


no compasses, no signs

by snowglobes



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: (But only at first), (but not the sexy kind :( ), Abduction, Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Blood and Violence, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor Kim Jongin | Kai/Lee Taemin, Minor Park Chanyeol/Zhang Yi Xing | Lay, Miscommunication, Music Video: Love Shot (EXO), Torture, Unrequited Love, it's not super explicit but it does happen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:08:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 49,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25698580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowglobes/pseuds/snowglobes
Summary: There was this thing snakes did that always fascinated him. In order to grow, they had to shed a skin that was too small to contain them anymore. He felt at times like he was growing too big for the skin he was in, and the itch in his fingertips that came with the feeling heralded the thought that he’d changed into something new since Minseok had embarked on this endeavor. Not different but grown to encompass more than he used to be, and he needed to shed the old to make way for the new.He was evolving, and he hoped that Junmyeon wasn’t going to be something he’d shed when he came out the other side.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Kim Jongdae | Chen, Byun Baekhyun/Kim Jongdae | Chen/Kim Minseok | Xiumin, Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Wu Yi Fan | Kris, Kim Junmyeon | Suho/Oh Sehun
Comments: 30
Kudos: 92





	no compasses, no signs

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working on this baby for almost two years now. Huge thanks goes to Aria, who read every single word, listened to me rant through my writer's block, and gave me endless support and encouragement. Much love also goes to Anne, who is a sweetheart for test-reading this for me. I am so lucky to have them in my corner. 
> 
> I don't think there's anything that would be too triggering, but there are instances of violence and mild torture in this fic, in line with what happens when you're dealing with a bunch of thieves and assassins.

It was late when Junmyeon finally stumbled back into the manor, the blackest time of night, stillness blanketing the world as Sehun drummed anxious fingers fueled by too many cups of coffee against the surface of his desk. Junmyeon had been out for almost thirty-two hours, and Sehun hadn’t let himself sleep more than twenty minutes every few hours for fear of being asleep if Junmyeon needed him.

Minseok had sent him out on assignment, the usual mission as per Junmyeon’s role in their organization and based on what he’d managed to convince Jongin to tell him, it was one of Junmyeon’s trickier tasks. But Sehun still hadn’t been prepared for Junmyeon to go radio silent on him for so long.

A blip on his monitor showed Junmyeon’s tracker approaching the manor gates, and with a few swift keystrokes Sehun opened the way for him. He watched as Junmyeon made his way up the long drive, the sleek black motorbike he usually took on these missions making quick work of the distance. Sehun heard the front doors open and close as Junmyeon entered the house, and he locked his screens before rushing from—what Baekhyun called—his tech-geek cave to meet Junmyeon at the foot of the grand stairs.

“Is your earpiece still working?” Sehun demanded, once he was close enough to be heard at a whisper, wary of being overheard. Even though it was the dead of night, people in this house never did seem to sleep at proper times, Sehun included.

Junmyeon continued to move up the stairs, making Sehun turn and follow to keep up. “Yes, it works fine Sehun.”

“Then why did you turn it off the moment you met your target?” Sehun snapped, grabbing hold of Junmyeon’s arm and making him turn to look at him. “I was worried sick, Junmyeon. Just because I can see where you are through your tracker, doesn’t mean it’s okay to just, shut off communication for _twenty hours.”_

Junmyeon clenched his jaw, speaking through his teeth. “It’s bad enough everyone knows what I do for Minseok. I don’t want everyone to be able to _hear_ it too, Sehun.” He looked up at Sehun, fire burning in his eyes, and Sehun knew in that moment he was going to lose this argument. “So, I’ll keep turning my earpiece off. You’ll just have to deal with it.” He tugged his arm free from Sehun’s grip. “I need to go report to Minseok.”

Sehun let him go, something foreign taking root in his chest.

“Hey Sehun, Minseok sent me for some tech.” Junmyeon’s voice broke through Sehun’s concentration, and he turned to find Junmyeon standing in the doorway of his cave, smiling tiredly at Sehun. He was dressed in tight black jeans, more rips than solid fabric, with a silky shirt in navy. It gaped open all the way to the top of his stomach, revealing a tantalizing slice of creamy skin that begged to be touched.

It was the point, Sehun supposed.

“Already?” Sehun asked, beckoning Junmyeon in and clearing a second chair of various gadgets he wasn’t yet done tweaking. “You just got back from your last assignment two days ago.”

Junmyeon sat next to him and shrugged, the silk of his shirt moving with his body, flowing over his skin like water. “You know he’s planning a big move next month. He needs a lot of information from people that only I can get. You know how this works.”

Sehun did indeed know how it worked, even if he wished he didn’t. “Don’t you need more rest though?”

Junmyeon sighed, weary. “I’m fine, Sehun. I’ve been doing this a long time. I know how to take care of myself.” He gestured to Sehun’s worktable adjacent to his computer array. “Now, don’t you have wires and things for me?”

Sehun turned his back to Junmyeon as he gathered up the usual kit he sent members of the team out with when they were on assignment, taking an extra second to compose himself. Junmyeon was right. He’d been doing this a long time, and Sehun didn’t need his feelings to get in the way of the easy friendship he had now with Junmyeon after being kept at arm’s length for so long.

“I’ve got a new version of the same earpiece you’ve been using,” Sehun explained as he swiveled back around to face Junmyeon. “Baekhyun suggested some improvements after his last task, and I’ve been able to implement them.” He placed the earpiece in Junmyeon’s hand. “I had Jongdae lift one of your watches and implanted a recording device in it that you can turn off and on by pressing this button here.” He flipped the watch to show Junmyeon, ignoring his affronted, “You had Jongdae _steal my watch?”_

Sehun picked up one of Junmyeon’s rings, a simple silver band with a row of emeralds embedded in it. Junmyeon wore it frequently, and it was the kind of discreet that went unnoticed by most. “This also has a small recording device, in case the one in your watch is inaccessible. You activate it by holding your thumbprint to the back of the band for three seconds. It’s programed to your thumbprint only, so you won’t have to worry about someone else accidentally triggering it.”

“Do you steal everyone’s jewelry? Or just mine?” Junmyeon slid the ring on his fourth finger, looking at Sehun with a raised eyebrow.

“You guys like things that don’t get in your way, so it’s easier to implant my tech into the things you all wear frequently instead of giving you more to keep track of.” Junmyeon didn’t need to know that Sehun had spent significantly more time on that one ring than he had on tech for anyone else in the last six months.

“You could have just asked me, Sehunnie. I would have happily given it over.” Junmyeon winked at him playfully, and Sehun had to shift to his computers and check in on Jongin to hide his blush.

“You were sleeping, and Jongdae is far quieter than I am, for obvious reasons.” Jongin was right where he’d been last Sehun had checked. He was surveilling one of the known bases of the family Minseok was going to move against in a few weeks, and he was good about doing verbal reports every hour, but Sehun was paranoid enough to have his tracker pulled up anyway.

“Anything else?”

Sehun turned back to Junmyeon, who had an odd sort of look on his face. “No. I know you don’t like everyone on the comms network being able to hear what’s going on, but please at least do a verbal check every few hours.”

Junmyeon chewed the inside of his cheek. “I’ll try.” He stood up. “Am I good?”

 _You’re perfect, as always._ “All set. Good luck.”

Junmyeon squeezed his shoulder, his touch lingering for a long moment before he left the room.

 _“Smooth, Hun,”_ Jongin’s voice came over the comm link, making Sehun jump. He’d forgotten to mute his end when Junmyeon had come in. He’d be more upset with himself if Jongin wasn’t his best friend on the team and loyal to a fault.

“You might want to find a different spot than the roof you’re on to surveil from, Nini. It’s going to rain in thirty minutes.”

Muffled cursing came though the link, and Sehun watched in smug satisfaction as Jongin relocated to a spot with shelter. Later, he would have more of the team all on the comms together, but until then Jongin kept him company and distracted from his thoughts.

But nothing could distract him from the way his shoulder burned for the rest of the night, the memory of Junmyeon’s touch impossible to forget.

Minseok had sent Chanyeol and Baekhyun out on an information gathering assignment much different in method than Junmyeon’s, but also on the same night. Charming the rich and powerful into spilling secrets was their specialty.

Minseok was out having dinner with the mayor, a conversation Sehun was recording and keeping track of in the background as he provided Chanyeol and Baekhyun with directions to the party they were both supposed to be at. He had them on a separate channel from Minseok’s earpiece, mostly so their incessant bickering wouldn’t drive Minseok insane.

Jongdae would be following them an hour later, using the distraction the two of them would provide simply by being in a room full of people to break into the upper floors of the mansion and copy the info Minseok needed.

Sehun constantly switched between three monitors and two keyboards, making sure everyone was where they were supposed to be and that everyone was on schedule. Sometimes, usually in moments like this when he was trying to keep track of six separate people, Sehun wondered why he’d taken Minseok up on his job offer. He paid well—most people who did the kind of work Minseok did were in the habit of compensating their employees handsomely—but it wasn’t easy being the one making sure things ran smoothly in the background.

_“Hey Sehun, do you have someone watching our exit just in case things go bad?”_

Chanyeol’s voice came through just as Sehun was checking Junmyeon’s location for the third time in an hour. He’d gone silent a few hours ago, and his tracker had been moving from place to place every hour or so. Nothing unusual, but he couldn’t help but keep tabs.

 _“Yeah, me, you big oaf,”_ Jongin replied. _“Why else do you think I’ve been on roofs all afternoon scoping quick exits from the mansion?”_

 _“Is it just me, or is our Jonginnie getting more disrespectful the longer he works with us?”_ Baekhyun mused.

 _“Probably because he realized you’re both idiots,”_ Jongdae teased. Then, _“I’m about fifteen minutes behind you guys, you gonna be ready with my distraction?”_

 _“I can’t believe you still doubt us after years of working together, I’m offended,”_ Chanyeol griped. _“There’s no trust in this team.”_

“How’s it going?” Kyungsoo’s voice startled Sehun out of the conversation happening on the comms. He was peering over Sehun’s shoulder at his monitors, taking in everyone’s positions.

“I didn’t expect you to be around tonight,” Sehun replied, instead of answering his question. He quickly muted his side of the commlink. Kyungsoo did the finances for Minseok, keeping everything above board as much as possible when dealing with a business as shady as Minseok’s. “Didn’t you have a date with your husband tonight?”

Kyungsoo waved a dismissive hand. “We did. Kris is here. We decided to cook dinner here tonight since it’s a big night. Want some?”

Sehun’s stomach growled audibly, answering for him. Kyungsoo’s husband was a chef, and consequently one of the only people Sehun trusted to make him food. It also helped that Kris was completely uninvolved with what they did, only coming around to drag Kyungsoo away from his work when he’d been working too much.

Kyungsoo ruffled his hair in a rare display of affection. “I’ll bring you a plate.”

“Thanks, Soo.” Baekhyun and Chanyeol were still chattering away in the background, Jongdae and Jongin chiming in occasionally. “It’s going to be a busy night.”

“Isn’t it that party Minseok wants everyone at? The one the Lee group is throwing?”

Sehun nodded. “Yeah, we’ve got like four different teams all doing different things tonight, and I’m keeping them all moving.”

Kyungsoo whistled softly. “Even Junmyeon? I know he tends to go dark on stuff like this.”

Sehun pointed to the window that had his tracker pulled. “I know where he is at least, and he’s pretty good about checking in when the team is involved. It’s when he’s out solo that he goes really dark.”

“I don’t blame him,” Kyungsoo hummed. “He’s never loved what he does, and Minseok has offered several times to find someone else if he wants to transition into a different role, but he always turns him down.”

“Why?” Sehun asked, trying not to sound too eager. Kyungsoo has been with Minseok almost from the beginning, and he knew much more about everyone on the team than Sehun did.

Kyungsoo shrugged. “He says he’s too good at what he does to quit, and he’s not wrong. The information he gets is so useful, it would hurt to lose him.” He paused. “People will tell their mistress more than they’d ever tell their wife.”

 _“I’m about an hour out,”_ Junmyeon’s hushed voice came through the comms, and Sehun rushed to unmute his end. He was dimly aware of Kyungsoo slipping from the room.

 _“Oh, is Myeon actually talking on an assignment? Wow.”_ Baekhyun’s drawl was undercut by Chanyeol’s laughter.

“Everything good on your end, Jun?” Sehun asked, silently willing Chanyeol and Baekhyun to shut up for once.

A hum was his only response.

 _“We’re here,”_ Chanyeol said a moment later, and Sehun looked at their trackers, zooming out to catch Junmyeon’s across the city, Jongin’s across the block from Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s, and Jongdae’s quickly moving dot. _“We’ll try our best to keep everyone engaged in the main room.”_

 _“It’s not like the success of my mission depends on the two of you doing your job, or anything,”_ Jongdae quipped.

 _“Baby, you wound me,”_ Baekhyun teased, and Sehun could almost see the hand he pressed to his chest in mock affront. _“Where’s the love, love?”_

 _“Baekhyun stop flirting with your boyfriend on an open channel, please,”_ Jongin complained with a slightly strained voice.

 _“Sehun, status report.”_ Minseok’s voice came through on his separate channel, and he quickly switched over.

“Yeol and Baek are at the house, Jongin in place covering their exits, with Jongdae in route. Junmyeon said he was an hour out at last check in.” He rattled off the information quickly. Minseok likely didn’t have a lot of time—the mayor had probably stepped away from their dinner for a moment—so Sehun kept it as brief as possible. “Oh, and Kyungsoo and Kris are here at the house. The rest of the team are on standby should we need them, but they’re spread out across the city.”

 _“Good. I’ll be in contact again once I wrap up here.”_ The link went silent, and Sehun switched back to the main comm.

Kyungsoo came back with a plate of food which he set off to the side of Sehun’s keyboards, leaving him with a pat on the shoulder that only made him miss someone else’s touch.

In the end, the distraction that provided enough cover for Jongdae to slip in and out wasn’t Baekhyun’s planned theatrics, but Junmyeon.

_“What do you mean, ‘he passed out?’”_

Minseok’s voice was terrifyingly calm as Sehun patched him through to the main link. He pushed aside the remains of the _very_ good dinner Kyungsoo had brought to him in order to focus on the task at hand.

 _“I don’t think it was planned,”_ Chanyeol answered, whispering. Sehun pulled up the video feed from his glasses, monitoring the party through Chanyeol’s eyes as he moved through the room. Baekhyun’s feed was showing him similar things as he also moved through the crowd, but Chanyeol’s height gave him better viewpoints from where he was sitting miles away.

 _“No, it definitely wasn’t,”_ Baekhyun agreed, and Sehun watched with mounting worry as Baekhyun tried to get closer to the people grouped around a slumped figure.

 _“Jongdae, move,”_ Minseok instructed, his voice steady. Sehun flicked his gaze to where Minseok’s dot was moving steadily across town, coming back to the house. He had Tao with him, driving back to the manor, and as much as Sehun knew he wanted to be there with the rest of the team, their plans necessitated that Minseok have an airtight alibi in case everything went sideways. _“This is your chance, and I need that information.”_

 _“Moving in through the third-floor window now,”_ Jongdae murmured. _“Going silent, I’ll let you know when I’m out.”_

“Jongin, do you have eyes on Dae?” Sehun asked, pulling up the blueprints of the mansion Chanyeol had charmed off an architect a few weeks ago.

_“Copy. He’s already in, proceeding to the study on the fourth floor.”_

_“Baekhyun, what’s going on with Jun. Did he take matters into his own hands? Or is this unintentional on his part?”_ Even though Minseok was still miles away from him, Sehun could still hear the gears turning in his mind, the calculations as to how likely a full abort was.

_“It doesn’t look good, Min.”_

Sehun flicked back to Baekhyun’s camera, seeing through his eyes what was happening as he worked his way through the crowd to Junmyeon. “Oh, shit.”

Over the years Sehun has been working for Minseok, he’d seen some intense things, but usually injuries happened to other members of their team, like Jongin and Tao, or sometimes Luhan and Jongdae. He’d never seen Junmyeon with so much as a bruise.

Junmyeon was very pale, his eyes rimmed in red and purple from what looked like exhaustion and crying, and there were bruises beginning to form around his neck, the low collar of his shirt doing nothing to hide them as he lay sprawled on his back in the middle of the ballroom floor.

 _“Those aren’t normal bruises,”_ Chanyeol’s voice filtered through, shaking Sehun from his observation. He could hear the mutterings of the people closest to Baekhyun and Chanyeol, coming through their earpieces. _“Baekhyun, can you get a closer look?”_

Sehun held his breath as Baekhyun said, _“Move aside, please, I’m a doctor.”_ The crowd parted for him, and Sehun sent a silent prayer up because having a grifter as good as Baekhyun on their team was constantly paying off.

“Are those bruises...shaped like fingers?” Sehun asked, squinting at the video feed. The close-up view Baekhyun had was much more detailed, and Sehun could clearly see the shape of two hands circling Junmyeon’s neck.

Baekhyun’s delicate fingers came into view, checking Junmyeon’s pulse and feeling his forehead with steadier hands than Sehun currently had. _“Has someone called for an ambulance yet? If not, I can take him to the hospital with me,”_ Baekhyun said to the crowd, giving Sehun a chance to pull up Yixing’s number.

Baekhyun might not have actually been a doctor, but Sehun would be damned if he didn’t have one at the house waiting for Junmyeon when he was brought back.

“I’ve got him, he’s with me,” said a deep, imposing voice. Sehun blinked in surprise as Chanyeol’s camera caught the assistant District Attorney for the city scooping Junmyeon off the floor and into his arms. “He’s had a lot to drink tonight, excuse us.”

Baekhyun didn’t even have a chance to protest before the ADA was halfway across the room, and by then it was too late.

Sehun clenched his hands into fists. Junmyeon _never_ drank on assignments. He rarely drank at all, and the bruises suggested a more sinister motive for his fainting spell.

 _“Jongdae is out,”_ came Jongin’s voice, quiet on the comms. _“Baekhyun, Chanyeol, you’re clear to leave as soon as you can get away.”_

 _“What about Junmyeon?”_ Chanyeol asked, already making for the nearest exit.

 _“Leave him,”_ Minseok instructed. _“He knows the job; he’ll find his way back when he’s finished.”_

Sehun clenched his jaw. Minseok was right, as usual, but that didn’t mean he liked what he’d said any more.

 _“I’m on my way back with the documents,”_ Jongdae informed, and indeed, his dot was now speeding in the direction of the manor, if not a slightly convoluted path to throw off any tails.

 _“Good work everyone. We meet tomorrow morning to discuss what we found and go over next steps, so get some sleep while you can.”_ Minseok signed out before his comm went silent, probably for the night. He would come back to the house, but Sehun already knew that he wasn’t going to move from his cave until Junmyeon was on his way back home.

By the time their meeting came the next morning, Junmyeon still had not appeared. His tracker had moved around the city a bit, but for the last few hours it had been in the same place, and Sehun had been staring at it for so long his eyes were burning and the screen was blurring in front of him.

He wasn’t really surprised when Luhan dragged him from the room for the meeting, citing Minseok’s anger as a reason why Sehun shouldn’t skip out in favor of staring at a screen. Luhan was right, he always was, but Sehun wasn’t going to _tell_ him that.

Which was how he’d ended up slouched in his seat at the dining room table, waiting for Minseok to finish the meeting. He didn’t have to wait long, though, as halfway through Jongdae going over the intel he’d gathered last night Junmyeon stumbled into the room, practically falling into his seat at the table, still in last night’s clothes.

Minseok, as well as the ten other pairs of eyes around the table, looked at Junmyeon. Yixing moved from his seat and began examining Junmyeon, flashing a penlight in his eyes and running gentle hands over the dark bruises around his throat, murmuring quietly to Junmyeon as Jongdae continued speaking. Once he was finished, Minseok turned his full attention to Junmyeon.

“Did you learn anything?”

Junmyeon nodded and waved Yixing away, tugging self-consciously at the gaping neckline of his shirt. “The DA has been fighting against the mayor’s current agenda. He’s in favor of prop six, which the mayor doesn’t know about. He’s been working against the mayor behind the scenes, while still pursuing the cases the mayor points him at.” He ran a shaking hand through his hair. It had been expertly coiffed away from his face but was now slipping out and loosening from its style to fall messily into his eyes.

Minseok nodded shortly, satisfaction in his eyes. “Perfect, that’s helpful information. Thank you, Jun.” He turned to face Jongin. “What have you gathered from watching the movements of the Lee family?”

Unable to sit still any longer, Sehun stood from his seat, moving to help Junmyeon out of his. He didn’t care that he was leaving a meeting before he was dismissed. He couldn’t stand watching Junmyeon fight to stay upright a second longer. “Come on, Jun. Let’s get you out of these clothes,” Sehun said quietly, tucking Junmyeon into his side and supporting as much of his weight as he could, steering them for the stairs up to their bedrooms.

Junmyeon hissed through his teeth as Sehun gripped at his waist. “Careful, I’m bruised there.”

“Sorry. You’re not usually this banged up when you come back to us.” Sehun immediately lightened his grip.

Junmyeon laughed, softly and without much humor at all. “I don’t usually have assignments like the one I had last night.”

Sehun fell silent, not sure how to respond to that. “Come on,” he said, once they’d gotten to Junmyeon’s room. “Let’s get you into a shower and out of these clothes, yeah?”

Junmyeon nodded wearily, more drained and exhausted than Sehun could remember seeing him in a while. “Thanks, Sehunnie.”

Sehun watched him all but limp into the bathroom, going to turn down the crisp sheets of Junmyeon’s bed while he showered. Once the water was running and he was sure Junmyeon was already in the shower, Sehun slipped into the bathroom, gathering up the discarded clothes from last night and replacing them with Junmyeon’s favorite sweats, a soft sweater, and clean underwear. He quietly left the bathroom, dropping his dirty clothes into the hamper and drawing the shades down over the windows, darkening the room. He knew that Junmyeon hadn’t gotten nearly enough sleep, and Sehun was going to make him actually _rest_ for once in his life.

He ran down to the main floor, rushing into his office to shut down his computers now that everyone was back and accounted for. He wasn’t long, but Junmyeon was out of the shower and dressed in the clothes Sehun had laid out for him by the time he got back, sitting in the middle of his bed and toweling his hair dry.

“Oh, I didn’t know you’d be so quick,” Sehun commented softly, closing the door behind him as he moved to join Junmyeon on the bed. “I wouldn’t have left, if I’d known.”

Junmyeon eyed him warily. “Are you going to sleep with me?”

Sehun pouted, not above acting cute to get what he wanted. “I haven’t slept all night, or the three nights before other than quick naps, and you don’t look like you should be alone right now.”

Junmyeon blinked at him, then looked down at the towel in his hands. “Yeah, okay,” he gave in, tossing the towel away and crawling between the sheets. He curled on his side, facing Sehun as he joined Junmyeon under the blankets.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Junmyeon bit his lip. “I think these are explanation enough,” he whispered, gesturing to the bruising around his neck. “The ADA likes things rough, as I found out last night.”

Sehun couldn’t help the soft sound of dismay that slipped through his lips. He knew what Junmyeon did was invaluable to Minseok, but he hated seeing him like this so often, coming back to them broken and tired. “Can I hug you? Or do you not want to be touched?”

Junmyeon visibly waffled for a moment, blinking at Sehun with tired eyes before scooting closer slowly, reaching out for him.

He gathered Junmyeon in his arms, gently pulling him close, mindful of the soreness in his ribs. “Are you okay?” he asked, because nobody had asked Junmyeon that yet, and he would _always_ worry about Junmyeon above anyone else.

He felt Junmyeon nod against his chest, his fingers tightening in the fabric of Sehun’s shirt. “I just need a few days of rest. I’ll be fine.”

“Sleep,” Sehun said, watching as Junmyeon’s body relaxed against his and his eyes fluttered shut. “You’re safe here with me. Always.” He placed a gentle kiss to the top of his head once Junmyeon was asleep, not brave enough to dare when he was awake.

Junmyeon’s role in their group was vital and useful to Minseok, but Sehun hated it. Often, he lay awake at night wishing that Junmyeon wasn’t so good at what he did. Maybe then it wouldn’t feel so hopeless, this all-consuming love he was harboring for Junmyeon, fully aware that Junmyeon viewed love as a weapon to get what information he needed. It wasn’t easy, being in love with Junmyeon.

But Sehun had never been good at picking the easy things in life, why would who he loved be any different?

Sehun lived in his cave most of the time, either because he was monitoring people on their team as they were out for various assignments from Minseok, or because he was tinkering with his tech, enhancing already sufficient gadgets into something better. It was his favorite pastime, and he knew the members of the team appreciated his efforts. Luhan hadn’t shut up about the gloves he’d designed that formed perfectly to his hands, eliminating creases or seams that would get in the way of his work. And when Sehun had programmed all of Tao’s guns to only work when he was holding them, Tao had promised him a favor if he ever needed it, something he’d never given anyone before, not even Minseok.

And right now, he was working on upgrading the glasses Baekhyun and Chanyeol wore on missions, integrating a facial recognition software into them and programming it to constantly scan for known members of the Lee family’s organization so they could more easily know who to avoid. Everyone knew where to find him if he wasn’t asleep in his room, which was why he wasn’t surprised when Junmyeon quietly joined him, curling up in one of the free chairs and slowly working through a plate of food that Kris must have left for them.

“You weren’t there when I woke up today,” Junmyeon remarked, almost casually, after a lengthy silence filled by the clinking of his cutlery and Sehun’s tools as he fiddled with the glasses. Sehun had slept through the day and night with Junmyeon, not waking until the early hours of this morning.

Sehun glanced up at Junmyeon, turning his chair to face him as he used a screwdriver to get into the tech buried in the frame of Chanyeol’s glasses. “I didn’t want to wake you up, and I got an idea for these I couldn’t ignore.” He didn’t know what he was supposed to say, Junmyeon didn’t usually mention things like this to him. “Was I supposed to wake you? You needed the sleep...”

Junmyeon pursed his lips, setting his plate aside. “No,” he said slowly, crossing his legs under him and resting his chin in his palm. “It was just strange to wake up alone.”

Sehun focused back on the frames in his hands, confusion swirling through him. He didn’t understand why Junmyeon was bringing it up, if only because they didn’t talk about the thing between them, Sehun’s feelings were unspoken for a reason. And what they’d done last night, Sehun holding Junmyeon while he slept, was not new. Sehun could always tell when Junmyeon didn’t want to be alone and he had always offered his company even at the detriment of his own heart. But they didn’t _ever_ talk about it.

“Do you have any assignments coming up?” Sehun asked, suddenly desperate to change the subject. The second he asked, though, he wished he could take the question back. He didn’t want to know how many people Junmyeon was going to end up fucking that week for information.

“Not yet. Minseok has a few things to do before he’ll need me again, I think.” He turned and ate a few more bites of food. “Who is out right now, anyone?”

Sehun shook his head, something unclenching within him at the thought of Junmyeon having some time where he wasn’t needed for anything. When Junmyeon wasn’t on assignment he usually just hung around the house, watching movies in the home theater in the basement or reading quietly in his room. “Luhan is going out tonight, with Jongin to cover his back, while I think Tao will be joining Minseok as he goes to yet another dinner.”

“Should be a quiet night. Luhan never needs much assistance, and if Jongin is with him that’s doubly true.” Junmyeon hummed, stretching his arms up above his head. Sehun couldn’t help but notice the way his sweater rode up, exposing a thin slice of smooth skin. The screwdriver slipped from his fingers, and he scrambled to recover the tool as it clattered to the ground. “Who is Minseok having dinner with, do you know?”

“The DA, I think,” Sehun mumbled. He’d had several emails from Minseok this morning detailing the movements he needed to be aware of over the next few days. They’d been time-stamped four in the morning, and Sehun had wondered, not for the first time, if Minseok ever slept. “He wants to use the info you gave him sooner than later, I think.”

He caught Junmyeon’s nod in the corner of his eye. “Makes sense.” He sighed, running a hand through hair that was still sleep-mussed. “What do you have going on today?”

Sehun’s confusion mounted. Junmyeon had never talked to him this long about such trivial things. Normally he only saw Junmyeon when he was giving him new tech, comforting him after a particularly rough assignment, or in the halls and rooms of the house. Junmyeon wasn’t one to linger for no reason or talk excessively about banal things. He was quiet and withdrawn, and Sehun had always assumed that was because what it took to extract information the way he did used up so much effort and energy he would rather not expend if he didn’t have to.

“I’m going to go back to bed for a few hours, once I finish with these.” He held up the glasses. “Then I’ll be back here to prep for Luhan tonight.”

Junmyeon frowned. “So if I wanted you to watch a movie with me, you probably don’t have time?”

Sehun gaped at him. “Uh, I mean, I could make time? I guess?” What the fuck. He had _no_ idea what was going on.

Junmyeon stood. “Great, I’ll meet you in the basement in two hours?”

“S-sure,” Sehun choked out as Junmyeon left the room, setting the glasses aside. They could wait, and exhaustion was plaguing every blink of his eyes. If he wanted to get a nap in, he should do it now, and he quickly locked his computers before leaving to head upstairs to his room.

There was a dull thud as he reached the top of the stairs, making him stop to listen for a moment, continuing when no other sounds followed. He rounded the corner into the hallway only to duck back around the corner a second later because holy _shit_ he had not been expecting that. Most of the rooms in the house were located on the third floor, with a few exceptions. His and Junmyeon’s room were next to each other’s, Baekhyun and Jongdae’s across from his, while the guest bedroom was across from Junmyeon’s. He was used to walking around the corner and finding Baekhyun and Jongdae locked together and stumbling into their room, but he definitely wasn’t used to seeing Minseok pressing Baekhyun against the wall and kissing him passionately.

He peeked around the corner. He wasn’t as sneaky as Jongdae—then again, few were—but after spending so much time with such highly skilled people, he’d picked up a few tricks. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Baekhyun and Jongdae had been together almost as long as Sehun had been working with them. They were hopelessly devoted to each other, so why...?

Their bedroom door opened, and Jongdae stepped out, wordlessly grabbing Minseok’s hand and pulling him away from Baekhyun’s lips and directly to his own. Baekhyun put his hands on Minseok’s hips from behind, pushing all three of them into their bedroom and, well, Sehun supposed that explained it.

He waited until the door clicked shut before he continued to his room. He hadn’t been awake for more than three hours and it had already been one of the weirdest days in recent memory. He stripped down to his underwear and collapsed into bed, barely remembering to set an alarm before slipping into sleep.

When he wandered to the basement roughly two hours later and after a much-needed shower, Junmyeon was already curled on one of the plush couches, looking comfortable in a different sweater and leggings. He was chatting quietly with Chanyeol, who was sprawled on the other couch with a sleeping Jongin stretched on top of him. His and Jongin’s rooms were tucked around the corner from the media room, while Tao and Luhan each had rooms in the other side of the basement. It wasn’t uncommon to find Chanyeol and Jongin in the media room, since of everyone in the house, they loved watching movies the most. When they had the energy, that was.

“Hey, Sehun,” Chanyeol greeted quietly, his hands smoothing up and down Jongin’s back. “Are you guys going to watch something?” He asked, as Sehun joined Junmyeon on the other couch.

Junmyeon nodded. “You’re welcome to join us,” he answered with a soft smile.

Chanyeol gestured to Jongin. “I’m not exactly going anywhere.” It was a well-known fact that you absolutely did not wake Jongin up unless you were ready to greet death. “We didn’t get to sleep until late, and he’s still quite tired from that and yesterday’s mission.”

Sehun wasn’t stupid enough to ask why they’d gotten to bed so late. There was a reason their room was in the basement and away from anyone else’s. “What are we watching?” Sehun asked Junmyeon instead. He used his phone to power up the systems. The first thing he’d done upon moving in was integrate his tech through the house, tightening the security and generally making things more convenient. Like being able to control the lights and appliances with his phone.

Junmyeon shrugged, watching the screen as Sehun navigated to Netflix. “Something we’ve seen before? So if I fall asleep it doesn’t matter?”

“Sure,” Sehun agreed easily, selecting the latest Marvel movie and hitting play, settling into the couch more comfortably. He still felt a little groggy from his nap, not really registering the first few minutes of the movie, or the way Junmyeon shifted to rest his head on Sehun’s shoulder.

He blinked a few times at the screen. Wait.

It took all his self-control not to jolt with surprise. It was one thing for them to cuddle when Junmyeon needed it after a rough night. Sehun was used to providing him with the aftercare he was usually denied, and he was always happy to do it. But he wasn’t used to Junmyeon initiating physical contact in the light of day. In front of Chanyeol and Jongin, no less.

Their occasional intimacy was reserved for the stillest moments of the night, behind closed doors and never spoken of outside them. Sehun didn’t know how to react to something like this. And Junmyeon pulling away only to lift Sehun’s arm and settling it around his shoulders so he could more easily rest his head against Sehun’s chest and throw an arm across his stomach did not make anything easier.

He glanced at the other couch only to find that Jongin had woken up and was dragging Chanyeol from the room. Sehun wasn’t sure he wanted to be left alone with an unusually cuddly Junmyeon in a dark room, though, and wished they would stay.

He didn’t know how to handle this Junmyeon. He didn’t know what to do when Junmyeon was so openly affectionate, but more importantly, he didn’t know what it _meant_. Tentatively, he tightened his arm around Junmyeon’s waist and shifted to make things more comfortable for them both.

The doors of Chanyeol’s and Jongin’s rooms clicked shut, and the tension rose, suffocating in its intensity. Electric tingles surged up and down Sehun’s spine, waking him up and making it difficult to focus on the movie. Junmyeon’s arm tightened around his waist as he snuggled closer, and Sehun ceased thinking at all, ignoring the twinge in the back of his mind that said something wasn’t right.

Junmyeon readjusted until one of his legs was thrown over Sehun’s, sighing as he relaxed against him. He reflexively placed his free hand just above Junmyeon’s knee, along his thigh, and by the time his brain caught up with his actions he found he didn’t care. He’d wanted to touch Junmyeon like this for so long, and if Junmyeon was freely initiating, he wasn’t going to question it.

There was another long, charged moment where everything Sehun had felt simmering between them for so long built, until it snapped as Junmyeon shifted again to straddle Sehun’s lap. “Hey,” he whispered, barely audible over the movie, their noses brushing.

“Hi,” Sehun breathed, not quite believing what was happening was real.

Junmyeon blinked at him slowly, his eyes black in the dim light. He leaned in, his nose brushing against Sehun’s cheek. “I’m going to kiss you, now.”

“Okay,” Sehun said, murmuring his consent against the soft, _soft_ skin of Junmyeon’s lips. He saw stars as Junmyeon connected their mouths, his body breaking out in shivers as long repressed desire surged through him, his hands coming up to tenderly cup Junmyeon’s face between his palms.

Junmyeon pulled away, looking at Sehun for a long moment while Sehun stroked his cheek with his thumb, trying to decipher the look in his eyes. But Junmyeon had always been opaque, and the intensity of the moment did nothing to change that fact. Junmyeon moved back in, the angle different this time, and Sehun shuddered with the hunger of Junmyeon’s lips as the kiss became deep and filthy within moments.

Time slipped away from him as he got lost exploring Junmyeon’s mouth against his, marveling at the perfect fit of their lips, how good it felt to have Junmyeon’s hands tugging at the short strands of his hair. Sehun chased Junmyeon’s lips as he pulled away again, tasting the laughter that spilled from between them as Junmyeon said, “Come on, let’s go to your room.”

If kissing Junmyeon had been breathtaking, then having him beneath him and naked in bed was a _revelation_. Junmyeon moaned high and soft as Sehun worked careful fingers into him, aware that while Junmyeon had slept for an entire day, his body still hadn’t had enough time to fully recover from whatever he’d been through on the last assignment. Earlier, Sehun had spent several long minutes gently kissing the bruises around Junmyeon’s neck while working one slick finger into him before letting his lips trail down Junmyeon’s body in a path of worship, ending up where he was now, three fingers deep and peppering endless kisses to the inside of Junmyeon’s thighs.

“Please, Sehun, I’m ready just—nngh—come on,” Junmyeon whined, tugging at Sehun’s hair with needy fingers until they were kissing again, a bit sloppy this time with desperation. Of all the things Sehun had imagined Junmyeon ever saying to him, it wasn’t that.

He would think he was dreaming, almost, except for the very real feeling of pushing into Junmyeon slowly, the sensation of Junmyeon’s fingers digging into his shoulders grounding him in reality. He went carefully, unwilling to rush things for his own satisfaction. He’d wanted this for so long, to be with Junmyeon, and now that he was here, he was determined to pour every bit of love and care into the moment, to show Junmyeon just how deeply he cared for him.

He wasn’t going to let Junmyeon slip away, not now that he had him.

“Okay?” he asked, once he was fully seated and between lazy kisses to distract Junmyeon from the stretch.

Junmyeon tugged gently at his bottom lip. “Move, Sehunnie.”

He started slow, relishing the drag of Junmyeon around him as he moved, wondering if this was what heaven felt like. “You feel so good, Jun,” he whispered, breathlessly, against Junmyeon’s shoulder, biting down slightly as Junmyeon arched into him.

“Come on,” Junmyeon urged, his legs wrapping around Sehun’s waist as he encouraged him to move faster. “I want to _feel_ you.”

Sehun gradually increased his pace, resting his weight on one forearm as his other hand went to Junmyeon’s hip, encouraging him as he rolled to meet Sehun’s thrusts, both gasping at the sensations. He knew he wasn’t going to last long, not when he’d wanted this for such a long time, but he was determined to make this good for Junmyeon.

He pulled back to change the angle of their hips, pleasure spiking through him as Junmyeon moaned and dug his fingers into Sehun’s biceps. “Right there, Hun,” Junmyeon gasped, arching again as Sehun managed to hit his prostate with each stroke.

Sehun moved his hand from Junmyeon’s hip to his cock, stroking him and increasing his pace just slightly until Junmyeon was tipping over the edge and pulling Sehun down to kiss him as he came. “You too, come on,” Junmyeon encouraged, clenching around Sehun and smirking against his lips as Sehun came with a low moan, filling the condom and clutching Junmyeon close.

He took a moment to catch his breath, Junmyeon’s hands stroking up and down his back as they came down together, before pulling out and getting rid of the condom. Once he felt confident that his legs would support him, he got a washcloth from the bathroom and used it to clean a drowsy and pliant Junmyeon, then himself, before collapsing back onto the bed and pulling Junmyeon to his chest, spooning him from behind.

He pressed lazy kisses to the back of Junmyeon’s neck and shoulders as his hand roamed over soft skin, marveling that he got to hold Junmyeon like this, explore his body and hold him close. They still needed to talk. Sehun wanted to know what Junmyeon expected, unsure how things were going to work with this shift in their relationship, wondering if he should tell Junmyeon how much he loved—

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” Junmyeon murmured, stretching in Sehun’s arms.

“That felt _amazing,_ Jun,” Sehun confirmed, nuzzling against his shoulder. “It was—”

“Much needed,” Junmyeon finished, cutting Sehun off mid-sentence. “We really needed to get that out of our systems.”

Sehun froze, the hazy, post-orgasm high leaving him in a heartbeat. “What?”

Junmyeon rolled out of his arms and sat up, looking down at Sehun with a playful smile. “I know you’ve wanted to fuck me for a while now, so I thought it was time we get it out of the way so things can go back to business as usual,” Junmyeon said with a shrug, getting out of bed and starting to put his clothes back on, retrieving them from their scattered positions around Sehun’s room.

 _Business. As usual._ His words swirled around Sehun’s mind as realization crashed into him. Junmyeon wasn’t returning his affection. “But…” he trailed off, not even sure what he was trying to say. It was too hard to form sentences when his heart was shattering apart.

Junmyeon came over to him, now fully clothed, and looked at him with confusion. “Sehun, are you okay?”

He had no idea what expression was on his face. He was too frozen with shock and heartbreak to even begin to process what was happening right at that moment. “I’m fine,” he lied, sitting up and running a hand through his hair, still feeling the ghost of Junmyeon’s fingers as he did.

Junmyeon tilted his head, catching Sehun’s stunned gaze. “Are you sure? You seem a bit out of it.”

He waved Junmyeon off, suddenly desperate to be alone. “I’m sure.”

“Okay.” Junmyeon didn’t look totally convinced, but he didn’t seem inclined to pry, either. “I promised Minseok I’d help Baekhyun with something today, so I’m going to go.” He leaned over and kissed Sehun on the cheek. “Thanks for, well, you know.” He brushed his fingers along Sehun’s jaw before pulling away, leaving his room and shutting the door behind him.

Sehun took a deep breath. Another. On his third inhale he choked on a sob and he quickly worked his way under the covers, pulling them over his head and muffling his crying into his pillow. But that only made things worse. His pillows smelled like Junmyeon’s shampoo, and he suddenly couldn’t be in his bed, where the sheets were still damp with their sweat and his whole room smelled like sex and Junmyeon.

With tears blurring his vision, Sehun moved quickly, frantic in his hurry to just _get away._ He pulled clothes at random from his dresser, tugging on the first things he found before grabbing one of his duffels and shoving more clothes into that, enough to last for a few days at least. He swiped his phone from his nightstand and shoved it into his back pocket before looking around his room.

He wiped at his nose with the sleeve of his shirt, trying to blink away his tears as he figured out what else he needed. There was no way he was staying in the house right now. Not when Junmyeon was in the next room over and a constant reminder of how hopelessly fucked over he was. He would need his laptop, at least, and a few other things from his cave, to work remotely. Which meant walking down to the main floor. Potentially seeing people.

He took a moment to pull himself together and slip into his shoes, promising himself that if he held it together long enough to get out of the house he could cry if he wanted later. Quietly, he left his room, moving as quickly as he could downstairs and to his cave where he gathered his laptop, cords, a few pieces of tech he was still working on, his toolkit, and the moleskine with his notes. He had a second bag in his cave, specifically for when he needed to pack things up for remote work, and he shoved everything into that before slinging it over his shoulder.

By some miracle he was able to slip from the house without seeing anybody, and considering that most everyone was home, it was indeed lucky. Minseok had several cars, and Sehun chose the one he thought Minseok would miss the least as his getaway, finding the keys tucked in the visor. He threw his stuff in the passenger seat and got in, pulling out his phone and sending two messages with his phone before driving away.

The first, to Minseok, that said: _Had to leave for a few days. I’ll be working remotely._

He waffled before he sent the second, but after a moment he sent it anyway. _I need a place to crash for a few days, can I come stay with you?_

He was halfway to his destination when an affirmative answer came through, just like he’d hoped, and he drove faster.

Kyungsoo opened his front door, took one look at Sehun’s face and the bags in his hands, and said, “Well, you’d better come in.”

Sehun stepped in gratefully, following Kyungsoo to the guest room and dropping his bags on the floor before collapsing face first onto the bed.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Kyungsoo asked softly, the bed dipping under his weight as he sat next to Sehun.

He didn’t. Not yet, at least. He needed time to process what had just happened. “I will, but not right now.” His voice was muffled by pillows that smelled like spring meadows instead of peaches and cream.

A gentle hand rubbed his shoulder. “Okay. Kris will be home soon for dinner. Would you like us to bring you something to eat?”

Hunger was the last thing on his mind, currently, but considering he couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten, he nodded his head anyway. It was early afternoon, which meant he had a few hours to wallow before dinner and the mission tonight. He’d need to pull it together, but for now he could fall apart in peace. “Thanks, Soo,” he whispered.

A final pat to his shoulder, the sound of the door clicking shut, then silence.

He flipped over to stare at the ceiling, wondering how he’d misread everything so colossally. Looking back, he should have realized that Junmyeon coming on to him in the basement wasn’t what he thought it was. It wasn’t Junmyeon turning their easy, soft friendship into something warmer and deeper. It wasn’t Junmyeon’s way of saying he had feelings for Sehun.

It was Junmyeon noticing the way Sehun’s eyes lingered longer on him than anyone else, or his obvious willingness to do whatever Junmyeon asked because he was so hopelessly in over his head. It was Junmyeon acting on the sexual tension that had simmered between them in every quiet moment or long night for the last year.

And Sehun _knew_ that to Junmyeon, love was nothing more than a weapon. That sex was a means to an end, a tool by which to extract information that wouldn’t be shared otherwise. He _knew_ that, had known when Junmyeon kissed him, and he still hadn’t realized the truth of what was happening, too blinded by his consuming love.

It sucked. He wanted to be angry at Junmyeon. He wanted to blame him and call him cruel for playing with Sehun’s emotions so ruthlessly, but that wasn’t what Junmyeon had been doing. Sehun had misread Junmyeon’s actions, had forgotten for a moment exactly who it was he was in love with, and because of that mistake he’d gotten his own heart broken.

In the end, he supposed, it was neither of their faults, just a simple miscommunication. But that didn’t stop the hollow emptiness from filling his chest, or the tears from leaking slowly from his eyes. How on earth could he expect Junmyeon to respect the way he felt when he’d never once spoken to Junmyeon about his feelings? No, he was most upset with himself for being too afraid to ruin their friendship with his feelings.

At least if he’d been brave enough to say something, he wouldn’t be hurting like this. Because now he _knew_ how amazing it felt to be loved by Junmyeon, even if for only a moment, and to have that for a second only to have it ripped away in the next moment was an agony he wouldn’t wish on anyone.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he used his sleeves to dry his eyes and nose before pulling it out to check it.

 _Hey I just checked ur cave thing and u weren’t there,_ Luhan’s text read. _I wanted to head out early but need an earpiece. Are you at the house?_

Sehun bit his lip. He’d almost forgotten about Luhan’s mission tonight with Jongin, and they definitely needed tech Sehun wasn’t there to give them. But if he recalled correctly, there were some spare earpieces on one of his shelves.

 _I’m working remotely for a few days,_ he replied, typing out a response as he slowly sat up and went to take out his equipment. _There should be a small box of earpieces ready to go on the third shelf from the top, black rectangular box._

_Got it. Talk to you in a few hours._

Sehun set his phone aside and worked on setting up his tech for remote work, hacking quickly into Kyungsoo’s Wi-Fi and synching his laptop to his servers back at the manor. Working remotely wasn’t his favorite—he missed his ergonomically correct chair and the multiple monitor display—but he could still watch everyone’s trackers and connect to the commlink, so it would work for a few days.

According to the trackers, everyone was in the house with the exception of him, Kyungsoo and Kris, and Yixing. He still had an hour or so before he suspected Luhan and Jongin would head out, so he set his programs to ping his phone when their trackers left the manor grounds and decided to leave his room.

He’d heard Kris come home, and he felt calm enough to talk with them. After having time to process, he mostly felt numb to it all, a blessed detachment from everything that had happened. More time alone with his thoughts was likely to send him into a spiral of over-thinking and agonizing over the things he _should_ have done but didn’t. 

He could hear Kris and Kyungsoo talking in the kitchen, so he wandered in that direction, letting their soft voices fill his mind.

“Sehun is staying with us for a few days,” Kyungsoo was saying, right as Sehun walked into the kitchen. Kris had his arms around Kyungsoo’s waist, resting his chin on his head and swaying them gently while Kyungsoo chopped vegetables.

Kris released Kyungsoo with a quick kiss to the cheek, walking over to Sehun and placing a hand on his shoulder. “You okay, kid?”

Sehun shrugged, glancing up at Kris. He was so tall, and even though Sehun had known him as long as he’d known Kyungsoo, Kris still intimidated him a bit. The man had a lot of sharp knives. “Not really. I will be, though.”

Kris looked at him shrewdly, his eyes narrowing in thought. “Something happen in that giant house?”

Kyungsoo snorted. “Something definitely happened. He hasn’t talked about it yet, and we’re not going to push him to.”

Kris looped his arm over Sehun’s shoulders, steering him to the table and gently pushing him into a chair. “Of course not. Talk when you’re ready, kid. Or not at all.”

“Thanks,” Sehun said softly, giving them a weak smile as he folded his arms on the table and rested his chin on them. This was why he’d come to Kyungsoo. He knew that he’d let him be, and Kyungsoo and Kris were both quiet people who kept to themselves, so he knew if he _did_ want to talk, it wouldn’t go beyond them. With his own parents out of the picture since he was five, Kris and Kyungsoo had become surrogates, although he’d never told them as much.

Somehow, he thought they already knew.

Dinner was a quiet affair, with Kris talking about his day at the restaurant he owned and Kyungsoo talking about something one of their neighbors had done that day. Sehun ate as much as he could stomach and listened to their soft chatter about menial things, wondering what it would be like to have a life so normal that typical conversations revolved around what Kris’s sous chef had done that day instead of the proper cleaning of guns and knives.

He was helping Kris with the dishes when his phone pinged. He checked it, finding that Luhan and Jongin were on the move.

“You working tonight?” Kris asked, nodding to his phone while he rinsed a plate.

Sehun hummed and finished drying the bowl in his other hand. “Just because I can’t be at the house doesn’t mean I can take a break from work. If I’m not there, everything tends to fall apart.”

Kris made a shooing motion with his soapy hands. “Go, then. We’ll be sure to stay out of your way.”

Sehun gave him a tight smile. “Okay. Thanks, Kris. For everything.”

Kris’s eyes softened. “Of course, Sehun. Anytime. You know that.”

With a small wave, Sehun slipped from the kitchen and headed back to the guest room, finding Luhan and Jongin already halfway across town. He connected into their comms, settling in for a late night.

_“So, why are you staying with Kyungsoo and Kris?”_ Luhan asked, far too nonchalant for a man currently breaking into a house.

 _“Wait, what?”_ Jongin sounded suitably shocked, although his voice was at a whisper. He was up a tree behind the house, watching Luhan’s back as he broke in to do what Minseok had asked of him. _“Why aren’t you staying at the manor?”_

Considering Luhan’s job and the nature of his coworkers, Sehun shouldn’t have been surprised that Luhan had somehow figured out where he was staying. He didn’t think he would have to explain himself so soon, though. “I can’t be at the house right now. Something happened and so I’m crashing with Kyungsoo for now.”

 _“Uh huh,”_ Jongin replied. _“We’ll talk later.”_

 _“Got it! Okay guys, going dark. Jongin, be ready to get us out in five minutes.”_ Luhan’s comm went silent a moment later, and all Sehun had was Jongin’s commentary as he watched the house.

_“He’s on the second floor, I just saw him pass the window I’m outside of. He should be seconds away from the target.”_

An alert pinged on one of the surveillance cams Sehun had hacked into that monitored the street in front of the house Luhan was in. Several men were climbing out of a car that had just pulled up and were heading for the house. He ran facial recognition, panic coursing through him as they triggered flags as known members of the Lee family. “Uh, guys? You need to get out _now.”_

 _“Luhan’s almost done. I counted one shot…and there’s the second. He’s done, mission accomplished.”_ Jongin’s voice was far calmer than Sehun felt he had any right being.

“Okay that’s great, but there’s literally _three men_ walking into the house right now. I don’t know how they’re moving in the house, so he’s going to have to be careful getting out.”

_“Relax, Sehun. Luhan’s got this. He’s been doing this for years.”_

_“Jongin, I need an exit, now.”_ Luhan’s voice sounded tight with panic to Sehun’s ears, barely speaking above a whisper. _“I’m pinned down in the bathroom of the second floor, and I’ve got at least two guys between me and the back door.”_

_“On it.”_

Sehun waited in breathless suspense as he heard Jongin jump out of the tree and run around to the front, where Sehun’s feed from the city surveillance picked him up. “What are you going to do, Jongin?” He had a sinking suspicion that he knew what he was going to do, but Jongin was the exfiltration specialist for a reason.

 _“I’m going to kick the front door down,”_ he announced, right before he slammed the heel of his boot into the door and it burst open with a crack Sehun could hear through the comms.

 _“What a fucking idiot,”_ Luhan muttered.

Had Sehun not been full of dread, he would have agreed. But he wouldn’t be able to relax until they were both away and clear, and right now it looked like they were going to have to fight their way out of this one. He could hear muffled sounds of fighting, but nothing specific, and he reached for his phone to dial Yixing.

“Sehun? What’s wrong?” Yixing calm and steady voice helped ground him, and he quickly explained.

“Luhan and Jongin are out on a mission and it went south.” He winced when he heard something that sounded like a gunshot echo through Jongin’s comm. “I think they’re going to be coming in pretty hot.”

He could hear Yixing sigh. “Okay, I’m home from the hospital, so have them come to my apartment. I’ll patch them up here.”

“Thanks, Xing.” He hung up, anxiously going back to the camera feed and hoping that Luhan and Jongin hadn’t managed to get themselves killed.

They hadn’t but Luhan was dragging a stumbling Jongin out the front door, shoving him into the back of the car they’d taken before getting in the front and driving away. “What happened in there?”

_“Jongin’s been shot.”_

“Yixing is already expecting you.” Sehun ran frustrated fingers through his hair. “Did anyone see you?” Minseok was going to kill him.

 _“We didn’t leave any witnesses,”_ Luhan answered darkly. _“Still, watch my tail. The last thing we need is to bring them to Yixing’s doorstep.”_

“I’m already hacked into the city’s traffic cams. You’re clear so far. I’ll try and clear lights for you. You should be there in about ten minutes if you remain at this speed.” There was only so much he could do from his laptop, but they were in the clear, and he could hear Yixing’s calm voice through the comms a few minutes later. He went into the city feeds and wiped the footage, erasing any evidence that Jongin or Luhan had been near the house.

Knowing he’d done all he could, Sehun signed off after telling Luhan that Yixing was ready for them and braced himself for the call he was about to make to Minseok. It was unlikely to be a pleasant one. He decided to wait until he’d met up with Luhan and Jongin at Yixing’s, figuring it would be better to see everything in person before he reported in.

He grabbed his keys and rushed out the door.

Considering Sehun had to tell Minseok that their exfil specialist had been shot getting Luhan out of an operation that may or may not have been compromised, it could be going worse.

 _“What do you mean he_ broke _the_ front door _down?”_

“I mean exactly that. Luhan was pinned down and needed an escape, and Jongin decided to make one.”

A heavy sigh from Minseok’s end of the call. _“Will he live?”_

Sehun peeked around the corner to where Yixing was working over Jongin’s prone form on his kitchen table. “Yixing seems to think so. He was hit in the shoulder, so it could have been worse.”

“Could have been better!” Yixing called over his shoulder. He appeared to be digging into Jongin’s shoulder with a pair of large tweezers while calling Jongin an idiot for getting shot in the first place every time he whined in pain.

_“Get him back here as soon as he’s able to move. I don’t want him staying with Yixing and being a liability to him.”_

“Copy that.” Sehun made to hang up.

 _“Oh, Sehun? Try not to be away too long. I dislike when ops go awry, and things always run smoothest when you’re monitoring from the manor.”_ It was as gentle of a chastisement as Minseok ever gave, and Sehun heard the unspoken.

Minseok didn’t have time for his personal issues. He wanted him back as soon as possible.

“I understand.” He bit his lip nervously. “I need a few days though; I’m not ready to come back yet. We don’t have any other ops planned. I’ll be back before anything big.”

_“Make sure you are.”_

The line clicked, then went dead. The last thing he wanted to do was return to the manor when his entire chest felt like a livewire waiting to fry him alive.

“This will hurt,” Yixing said mildly, immediately followed by a loud stream of curses from Jongin.

By the time Sehun got back to Kyungsoo’s place it was late, and he was tired. But not tired enough to stop his mind from replaying every moment with Junmyeon earlier that day. He could still feel the softness of his skin beneath his fingertips, the sound of his moans echoing in his ears like the sweetest torture.

He needed to talk about it, he realized as he changed into a t-shirt and sweats. He wanted someone to tell him it would be okay, and he found himself knocking gently on Kris and Kyungsoo’s bedroom door before he could think better of it or consider the time.

“Come in,” Kris’s low grumble reached him, and Sehun pushed the door open slowly, peeking his head around.

“Sehun?” Kyungsoo sat up abruptly, his hair a wild mess. His movements disturbed Kris, who was curled around Kyungsoo, and he grumbled as he shifted. “What’s wrong? Did someone die?”

“Can I talk to you?” Even to his own ears, his voice sounded small and pathetic.

“Of course. Move over Kris.” Kyungsoo shoved at Kris’s shoulder until he was rolling away with a groan of protest, then patted the space between them. “Come here, Sehunnie.”

Sehun thought he’d cried himself out earlier, but as Kyungsoo made room for him and tucked him under the covers, Sehun felt a tell-tale tightness in his throat. “Today sucked.” He rolled on his side, facing Kyungsoo, his back to Kris.

“Do you want a hug?”

Sehun nodded and reached for Kyungsoo, desperate for the quiet comfort Kyungsoo carried with him like a blanket. He jumped slightly when Kris pressed against him from behind, winding an arm around his waist to hold him tight while Kyungsoo cozied up to his front, lacing his fingers with Kris’s on Sehun’s chest. Like that, enclosed on both sides, Sehun started to talk.

When he got to the events of earlier in the day, with Junmyeon, Kyungsoo’s calm façade finally cracked, and he frowned slightly. “He said what?”

“That it was good to get it out of our systems,” Sehun repeated. The pillow beneath his head was damp from his tears. Kris squeezed him tighter. “That he could tell I’d wanted to, and now things could go back to normal between us.”

“Oh, baby,” Kris whispered, butting his head softly against Sehun’s nape. “Does he know how you feel about him?”

“W-what? I don’t know what you mean?”

Kyungsoo clicked his tongue against his teeth. “Sehunnie, we both know you’re in love with him.”

And that, that statement broke the dam, and _everything_ rushed out of him in an explosive wave of emotion and thoughts. He didn’t realize how much he’d pent up until it was spilling from him, and he could see Kyungsoo’s eyes widening in the dark as he kept talking.

“How long?” Kyungsoo interrupted, focusing Sehun’s thoughts. “How long have you felt this way?”

Sehun shrugged and absently played with Kris’s thumb. “I don’t know, a year?”

“That’s a long time to carry a torch,” Kris mused. “So that’s why you’re staying with us?”

Sehun nodded, the urge to speak leaving him as quickly as it had come now that the bulk of it was out.

“What do you want to do?” Kyungsoo questioned after a few slow beats of silence. “How can we help?”

“Advice? Comfort?” Kris paused. “Do you want me to threaten him with my knives?”

Sehun laughed wetly. “This is good for now,” he answered. “Being cuddled and letting me talk your ears off at two in the morning.” He pondered Kris’s question for a while longer. “Maybe advice later when I’m not exhausted. I need to sleep.”

“Okay. Cuddles it is.” Kyungsoo squirmed closer. “How did the mission go tonight?”

“Could have been better, but I’ve seen worse. Jongin got shot. He’ll be fine, though,” he quickly added as Kyungsoo and Kris both made sounds of dismay.

“I’m glad everything turned out okay, at least for now.”

“Sleep, Sehun,” Kris murmured. “We’ve got you.”

Sehun nodded as Kyungsoo tucked his head under Sehun’s chin, snuggling close. “Thank you,” he whispered, slipping into an exhausted sleep before either Kyungsoo or Kris could answer him.

There were a staggering ninety-four notifications on his phone when he woke the next morning. Kris and Kyungsoo were gone, one of his messages from Kyungsoo telling him breakfast was in the microwave for him and that he’d be home shortly after noon.

With a sigh, Sehun began sorting through the notifications. Most of them were security updates from the manor’s system, flagging the comings and goings for him to review for potential threats. Besides several late-night excursions by Baekhyun and Jongdae—it was unusual if they _didn’t_ leave the manor at least once in the night—there was nothing out of the ordinary. He had several messages from Tao he made a mental note to reply to later, a series of messages from Chanyeol that started panicked over Jongin and transitioned to senseless strings of emojis once Jongin returned with Luhan, several emails from Minseok that mentioned new ops he wasn’t awake enough to deal with, and a message from Junmyeon buried under everything else.

Bitterness filled his mouth as his thumb hovered over his messages with Junmyeon, his chest tightening as he opened them.

_Hey, are you okay?_

Anger made his blood hot and his jaw clench, surprising him with the strength of it. He wanted to fire back with a snippy _of course not,_ but refrained. He would inevitably have to explain why he wasn’t okay, and he didn’t feel ready to face the enormity of his feelings for Junmyeon when it was so clear they weren’t returned.

He shot off a terse, _yeah, fine,_ before rolling from bed and into a shower, hoping it would calm the roiling waves of emotion crashing through him. After that, he did the only thing he could to distract himself: buried his head in his work.

He spent hours working through the new ops Minseok had sent him overnight, detailing what they would need for each and who would be best for them. He sat in the quiet of the guest room, distinctly _not_ thinking about Junmyeon, until he heard Kyungsoo come home.

“Did you eat?” Kyungsoo asked as he walked into the kitchen, holding a plate with Sehun’s breakfast on it and an eyebrow raised.

“Uh.” Sehun rubbed the back of his neck. “I got caught up in working.”

Kyungsoo frowned. “I’ll make us both some lunch, then. What were you working on?”

Sehun talked to him while Kyungsoo made lunch, his stomach waking up as delicious smells began to permeate the room.

“I need to go to the manor this afternoon,” Kyungsoo said, once Sehun had inhaled half of what he’d been served. “Do you want to come with me?”

Sehun took a large bite, giving himself time to mull over his answer while he chewed. He could use to spend a few hours in his cave, running some diagnostics and setting things up more securely for the next few days. But he would likely see Junmyeon.

“How long were you planning to stay?”

“Just until Kris comes home from work.”

Sehun nodded. That would give him a definite out. “Okay. I could use to check in.”

Kyungsoo looked down at his plate. “You shouldn’t feel like you have to hide from him, you know. That house is your home as much as his.”

“It’s not really…about that? I know I have a right to be there, I just really don’t want to see him yet.” Sehun frowned. “I hate that everything around me there reminds me of him when I’m hurting so much because of him, y’know?”

Kyungsoo’s understanding smile was tinged with sadness. “Yeah, I know.”

The first thing Sehun did when he walked into the manor was head straight for his den, intent on speaking to as few people as possible while Kyungsoo was working.

“Oh, you’re back!”

“Tao, get out of my chair.”

Tao pouted at him, unmoving from his seat.

Sehun sighed and began unpacking his portable equipment, working around Tao. “What do you want, Tao?”

“Yeesh, what’s wrong with you? I’m here for our usual security meeting.” He held a hand to his chest. “What, don’t tell me you forgot?”

He rubbed his temples. “Sorry, Tao. It’s been a long twenty-four hours.”

“Do you want me to come back later?”

“No, I’m not staying here tonight.”

Sehun could feel Tao’s gaze burning into his skin. “Hey, what’s going on? Why are you avoiding this house so intensely?”

“It’s nothing. Just need a break.” He sometimes hated working with people who were so perceptive.

“Because I’m fond of you, I’m going to pretend that was convincing. Just know that if I need to beat someone up for you, I will.”

He snorted. “Thanks, Tao.”

He and Tao were just finishing the security details for the next few events Minseok was going to when someone cleared their throat behind them.

Sehun’s stomach sank.

“Hey, Chanyeol is looking for you, Sehun.”

Junmyeon’s voice was as smooth as he remembered, light and soft. Sehun turned around slowly, trying to keep his face blank.

Judging by Tao’s quirked eyebrow, he wasn’t doing very well.

“Did he say why?” He couldn’t bring himself to look Junmyeon in the eyes.

Junmyeon’s mouth thinned. “I assume it has something to do with the fact Jongin was shot last night. You know how much he adores that kid.”

Sehun got the impression from Junmyeon’s tone that he thought _Sehun_ was somehow to blame for it, like he’d been the one to shove Jongin into a house full of armed men. “I’ll be right down.” He turned away from Junmyeon in clear dismissal, wanting him gone.

It hurt to look at him.

“Thanks Jun,” Tao said, smiling at him.

Sehun didn’t see, so much as hear Junmyeon walk away.

“What the fuck was that?” Tao leaned forward, close enough that Sehun felt like he had to look him in the eye.

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit. You can’t lie to me.”

He sighed. “Let’s go see what Chanyeol wants. I’ll tell you after.” He stood up, pausing in the doorway. “Do we have any alcohol in the house?”

Tao raised an eyebrow. “That bad, huh? Yeah, I know Minseok has some stashed somewhere.”

“We’re going to need it.”

Chanyeol didn’t yell at Sehun, which was a relief. He did want to know what had happened, in excruciating detail. Tao hovered silently while he explained the job to Chanyeol, then stopped Chanyeol from overwhelming him with questions.

“He’s had a long few days, Yeol. Go back to Jongin. He needs you more.”

Sehun would be relieved except he knew that Tao was only sending Chanyeol away so that he could grill Sehun. Instead of heading back upstairs, Tao pulled him into his room in the basement, flicking on a few lamps that kept the room dim but cozy.

“Okay, spill.”

Sehun got settled on Tao’s bed, and told him everything.

“What the fuck,” Tao deadpanned, once Sehun had finished. “He did _what?”_

“I know it’s bad,” Sehun said, “but in his defense, I don’t think he knew how...extensive my feelings for him were.”

“That’s bullshit?” Tao looked incensed. “Even if he didn’t know, to seduce you and then walk away like he didn’t want anything else?”

Sehun made a noise of frustration. “It’s not—I mean.” He paused, collected his thoughts. “I can’t expect him to know how much it would hurt me when I never told him how I felt.”

Tao looked at him with searching eyes. “Have you ever told _anyone_ how you feel?”

“Not until now.” He hated how small his voice sounded. But he couldn’t make it louder. “You, Kris and Kyungsoo are the only ones who know.”

“I suppose it would be out of character for you to express human emotions,” Tao remarked with an amused snort.

“Yeah.” He gave Tao a strained smile. “Thanks for listening, I guess. Don’t hold your breath waiting for it to happen again.”

Tao pulled him in for a hug, holding him close and tight. “I’m here for you Sehun. You’ve always been my favorite.”

He didn’t know why he did it—maybe it was because Tao was the first single person to comfort him through this—but when their cheeks brushed as he pulled away, he couldn’t help himself from turning so that his lips brushed the corner of Tao’s mouth.

“Hun,” Tao breathed, his face close. “What are you doing?”

“Help me,” he pleaded, craving someone to make him forget, to erase the feeling of Junmyeon’s fingers on his skin. “Help me forget.”

It was a bad idea.

“This is a bad idea,” Tao reasoned, cupping Sehun’s jaw. “You’re hurting.”

Sehun nodded, his hands coming up to grasp at Tao’s wrists, keeping his hands on his jaw. “It’s not fair to you, certainly.”

“It’s not,” Tao agreed, leaning in. “I care about you so much.”

Sehun inhaled sharply, searching Tao’s eyes. Affection, care, want. _“Tao—”_

Tao kissed him. Softly, at first. A bare brush of lips, gentle as a summer breeze. Sehun let go of his wrists, sliding his hands down Tao’s arms, down his sides, coming to a stop at his waist.

Tao pulled away long enough for Sehun’s eyes to flutter open, meeting his eyes and answering the question waiting for him in Tao’s.

This time the kiss was _more._ Deep, heady, consuming; Sehun forgot every reason as to why it was a bad idea to be kissing Tao as his lips were pulled apart in a teasing, passionate kiss.

Tao’s lips trailed down his neck, lingering and nipping enough that Sehun knew he would have marks left over.

 _Good,_ he thought bitterly, letting Tao push him back on the bed, running his fingers over the harsh edge of his undercut at the back of his head as Tao continued to mark him up. He groaned happily as Tao sucked below his ear.

Tao’s hands were at his waist, pulling at his shirt and flirting with his waistband. “What do you want, Hun?”

Sehun pulled Tao’s face away from his neck, tugging at his hair to get him to move. “We can stop, if you want,” Sehun offered, giving Tao an out. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

Tao didn’t scoff or brush it off. Sehun could see him considering, his gaze heavy and serious as he looked into Sehun’s eyes. “I don’t want to put much weight behind this.”

Sehun nodded, picking up his implication. “You’re helping me forget, and I’m making you feel good.” Sehun smiled thinly. “What else are friends for.”

A snort. “I don’t know that I’d say _that,”_ Tao laughed, leaning back down to kiss Sehun’s neck, mouthing along his jaw as he hummed in thought. “So, now that we’re on the same page here, what do you want?”

Sehun rolled his hips up against Tao’s insistently. “Anything.”

Tao raised an eyebrow before pulling back enough to get them both out of their pants. “How’s this?” he asked, taking them both in hand and stroking up, slow and firm.

Sehun pulled him back down to kiss, letting his actions speak for him, sighing happily as Tao twisted on the upstroke, working them both up quickly. It was fast, but not hasty. Tao was as meticulous here as he was guarding Minseok.

He didn’t last very long, all things considered. Tao was too good of a kisser, his grip just right, and Sehun was aching for distraction.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Tao asked, when Sehun had been quiet for a very long time after they were cleaned up.

Sehun nodded, letting Tao pull him in for cuddles. “Yeah, just thinking, I guess.”

“About Junmyeon?”

“Partially.”

Tao hummed, kissing the back of Sehun’s neck gently. “I’m here, if you ever want to talk. Or spar. You’ve fallen behind on your training recently. You need a brush-up.”

Sehun squeezed the arm Tao had around his waist gratefully. He tried to pull some thoughts together, something coherent, but his phone rang with Minseok’s alert.

 _“I need you upstairs in the meeting room, now.”_ Minseok spoke before Sehun could even say hello. _“And bring Tao with you.”_

The line clicked dead. “Minseok wants us both in the meeting room. Now.”

Tao scrambled off the bed, straightening his clothes. “How did he know we were together?”

Sehun got up, fixing his hair. “I have no idea.” He gestured for Tao. “But we’d better go. If he’s calling me it must be important.”

It was important.

When Sehun and Tao got up to the meeting room, everyone on the team was there, apart from Jongin who was too high on meds to be of any use.

Minseok gestured for him as soon as he saw him. “Sehun, are you prepped for the op I sent you the other night?”

Sehun balked mid-step. “No? You said we weren’t running it for a few days yet, and with Jongin out of commission I assumed it was on hold.”

Minseok’s lips thinned. “How fast can you be ready?”

He did some fast math, working through the pieces he could remember from Minseok’s email. “If I work non-stop? Ten hours, give or take.”

“I need it ready in eight.”

“Boss, what’s going on?” Jongdae asked, getting Minseok’s attention. “What happened?”

Minseok ignored him, turning to Junmyeon who was sitting quietly in his usual seat. “Jun, are you okay to go out again?”

Junmyeon looked up, not at Minseok, but at Sehun, his gaze lingering on his neck, before flicking to Minseok. “Yeah, who is my target?”

“I’ll have Sehun brief each of you on your jobs as part of his set-up. Nobody leaves the house until you get an okay from Sehun or me.” Minseok leaned against the table with one hip, looking at Sehun. “I’ll make sure you have everything you need.”

“Sure, but what exactly _are_ we doing?” Baekhyun pressed, sitting up in his chair. “What’s the game?”

Minseok’s jaw clenched. “I can’t tell you that right now. I need everyone to do their jobs.”

Sehun recalled several of the ops he’d outlined earlier that morning, sorted through the ones that involved Junmyeon, and felt his stomach drop. There were only two, and they were both…ambitious. And without Jongin to punch things, they were also risky.

He rubbed his hands down his face. He wasn’t going to sleep tonight, and he was going to be stuck in the manor for the foreseeable future. Tao rubbed his back in sympathy, no doubt guessing the cause of his distress, and Kyungsoo gave him a small smile and a nod.

Right. He could do this. He’d just lock himself in his cave until he was ready to talk to the team.

“Everyone, be on alert from a message from Sehun or myself, detailing your assignment. We’ll meet back here in the morning for a full run through.” Minseok strode from the room, heading for his office on the main floor, and Baekhyun and Jongdae—after exchanging a look with one another—followed him.

Taking that as dismissal, Sehun made a beeline for his cave, feeling guilty over how relieved he was when Junmyeon made no move to follow. He locked his door once he was in, settling in and planning on ignoring anyone that tried to contact him except Minseok.

He had a lot of work to do.

The job, when Minseok sent him detailed instructions, was deceptively simple. The hours he’d spent prepping for the jobs Minseok had sent him yesterday weren’t going to waste, Sehun was relieved to find, since the plan he’d chosen was something like a hybrid of those.

He still locked himself in his den and didn’t open the door for anyone, despite several rounds of insistent knocking from multiple knuckles. His determination and focus meant that four hours later—when his body was demanding food and his brain was filled to the brim with logistics and the tech they’d need—he finally messaged Luhan and asked him to come down. With food.

This time, when there was a knock, Sehun opened the door.

“Dude, do you know how many people are worried about you?” Luhan asked, shuffling into his space with two plates piled with what was undoubtedly Kris’s cooking. “Why aren’t you talking to anyone?”

“I need your opinion on travel routes for each member,” Sehun replied, purposely ignoring Luhan’s question and hoping he would drop it.

“You can’t ignore my question, Hun.”

“Watch me.” Sehun reached for a plate, only to frown as Luhan held it out of his reach.

“Answer me.”

“I talked to Tao today.”

“Yeah, and that’s about it. Not to mention that you’ve been avoiding the house.”

“Are you going to let me eat?”

Luhan handed over his plate but kept staring at Sehun as they sat down in front of his monitors. “We’re all a team here, don’t shut us out.”

Is that how Junmyeon had seen it? Fucking him for the good of the team? To keep the status quo of the team dynamics the same? Much to think about.

He shoved food into his mouth instead of replying.

Luhan turned his gaze to the screens, looking at the proposed routes Sehun had highlighted. “I think you should swap Chanyeol and Baekhyun, so that Baekhyun and Jongdae aren’t arriving at the same time. They’ll just blow each other’s...cover.” Luhan winked at him. “It’s going to be harder without Jongin around to punch people for us,” Luhan mused.

“We have Tao,” Sehun argued, pointing out his travel route. “He’s more than capable of hitting people, even if he’s not as good at providing an exit as Jongin is.”

“True. And assuming Junmyeon does his job, a lot of this will prove to be unneeded, since we’re more or less doing this to protect him.”

Sehun pursed his lips at the mention of Junmyeon, still feeling raw and achy, and shoveled more food in his mouth so he wouldn’t have to talk.

“Ah, so it _is_ about Junmyeon,” Luhan guessed softly. “I wondered.”

“What makes you say that?”

Luhan swiveled in his chair to face Sehun directly. “Bruh. I’m not an idiot like Baekhyun. I notice things.”

Sehun was certain that somewhere in the house Baekhyun sneezed, then squawked in outrage. “Man, can’t keep anything quiet in this house, huh?”

Luhan gave him a flat look. “I won’t dignify that with an answer.”

“I’ll get over it. I’m more concerned about how…ambitious this op is.”

Luhan gave him an intense side-eye, but let the subject of Junmyeon drop, picking up the thread of the op instead. “If we pull this off, everyone is going to know that Minseok is making a play for power.”

Sehun chewed thoughtfully. “Truth be told, pretty much every op he’s sent me to prep for the last week has had a very specific agenda.”

Luhan pursed his lips, pushing food around his plate. “Think he’s angling for mayor?”

“It’s not really my job to question, just to do.”

“But if you had to guess?”

“I think he’s definitely angling to get rid of the mayor. Current one is corrupt as fuck. Makes it easier for us to operate, and we all know Minseok would be a much better mayor of Seoul than the current.”

A hum. “True.” Luhan squinted at the screens again, taking the time to read Sehun’s various notes and ideas on execution of Minseok’s plans. “Who is Junmyeon’s target?”

Sehun kept his face carefully blank. “The mayor’s wife.”

 _“Who?”_ Luhan looked as shocked as Sehun had felt when he’d first read the plan early that morning.

“This plan is one of his most ambitious yet, and it all relies on Junmyeon’s ability to charm his way into anyone’s bed.”

“We both know he can do it, but doesn’t it seem unnecessarily risky?”

“Without Jongin? Maybe.” Sehun didn’t really care if it was risky at present. “Junmyeon can handle it.”

Luhan gave him an odd look but didn’t address his comment about Junmyeon. “Well, either way it looks like you’re ready to brief people individually. Want me to send somebody in?”

“Baek and Yeol, I think.”

Luhan left him with a final pat to the shoulder.

Several rounds of noisy chaos later, all Sehun had left to do before he could leave was briefing Junmyeon.

He’d delayed as much as possible, upgrading everyone’s equipment to his latest models, making sure Tao’s gun was properly keyed to his palm print only, giving Jongdae a new set of data collecting drives that were preprogrammed to give Sehun backdoor access to whatever device they were plugged into.

Everyone had been suitably impressed with his new tech, but none of it managed to fully distract him from the looming knowledge that he would have to talk to Junmyeon.

There was a knock at his door.

“Come in.”

“You do realize it’s nearly one in the morning?”

Sehun hummed. “Nobody in this house sleeps regular hours.”

Junmyeon sat in the chair next to his, setting down the ring and the watch Sehun had given him last week.

“Is there something wrong with them?” He picked them both up, looking at them closely. There didn’t appear to be any damage to them

“I’ve got some, uh, audio files on there that Minseok would probably find useful,” Junmyeon said softly.

Sehun’s stomach roiled, and he regretted eating everything Luhan had brought him an hour ago. He set both on his data uplink pad and started downloading the compressed files, sorting them immediately into his “for Minseok’s eyes only” folder.

Normally he would listen to everything brought in through his devices, sorting through the nonsense and only sending Minseok the pieces that were pertinent to his current plans. Nothing could convince him to listen to these files. Not now, anyway.

He watched the file download until it was complete, then handed the tech back to Junmyeon. “All set. They look great, functioning normally. Earpiece still good?”

“All good. I can hear everyone like they were right next to me.”

Sehun pulled up Junmyeon’s briefing and started running through it. Where he needed to be by when, what route he should take through the city, how much time he had to seduce information from his target.

“Sehun, stop.”

He looked down, Junmyeon’s hand on his forearm. “Something wrong?”

“Look at me, Sehun,” Junmyeon commanded.

He swallowed, took a breath, and forced himself to meet Junmyeon’s eyes. It was the first he’d looked at him since he’d walked in.

Junmyeon’s eyes were hard with determination. “What’s wrong, Sehunnie?”

“Nothing.”

Junmyeon’s eyes narrowed. “Why are you avoiding everyone?”

“I’m not.”

“Clearly.” Junmyeon’s gaze flicked to the marks Tao had left on his neck. “Are you going to keep lying to me every time I ask a question?”

“Probably,” Sehun shot back, more spitefully than he should have.

He could see the way Junmyeon’s jaw clenched. “Fine. But I know you. I know you’re not okay.”

Sehun _almost_ bit back with, “Not well enough, since you don’t even realize it’s because of you that I’m not okay,” but he held his tongue. “Okay,” he said instead, gently twisting his wrist out of Junmyeon’s grip. “Is there anything else you need?”

“No,” Junmyeon answered after a moment. He picked up his watch and ring. “Anything else I need to know?”

“Clear on where you need to be by when?” Sehun checked, tapping at the screen where Junmyeon’s instructions were pulled up.

“Crystal.”

“Then you’re good.”

Junmyeon stood, and Sehun turned back to face his monitors. “I miss you, you know,” Junmyeon whispered, so softly Sehun almost wasn’t sure if he’d heard it.

“I’ve barely been gone twenty-four hours. Besides, I’m always here for you,” Sehun replied, just as quiet, the hum of his computers the only sound. “You know that.”

Sehun tried not to blame himself too much for leaning back into Junmyeon when he wrapped his arms around Sehun’s shoulders from behind, resting his chin atop his head. He’d never been strong. Not really.

Junmyeon made to pull away, and Sehun found himself grabbing his forearm, keeping him in place. “Are you.” He paused, licked his lips. “Are you okay to go back out? Fully recovered?”

He felt Junmyeon nod. “Perfectly fine. And women are always easier. Always. They don’t usually want to hurt me.”

That statement didn’t make Sehun feel anything good. “Are you sure you want to do this? I can find another way to make this work.”

“We both know you can’t.” Junmyeon gave him a wry smile, and it felt like things going back to the way they’d been, just a little. “I’m sure, Sehunnie.”

“Okay.”

The room felt too quiet, once Junmyeon had left.

 _You ready to head back?_ Kyungsoo’s text read, when Sehun picked up his buzzing phone.

He was halfway through composing a text when Minseok walked in.

“Is everyone briefed?”

He dropped his phone in surprise. “Yes, I just finished with Junmyeon. Everyone is clear.”

Minseok nodded. “Are you clear? Ready to go?”

“I need some sleep, but otherwise…yeah.” It had been a long day. Kissing Tao felt like a lifetime ago, and yet he knew he would have to process that sooner rather than later.

“Get some sleep, then. Preferably here.”

Sehun shook his head. As much as his conversation with Junmyeon had eased some of the sting, he still didn’t want to be here. “No can do, but I’ll be here in time to run the op.”

Minseok’s mouth thinned. “Something you want to tell me, Hun?”

“No hyung.”

Minseok squinted. “Is it going to continue to affect your work?”

He shouldn’t be surprised. Minseok had the best bullshit detector he knew. “No, hyung,” he said a little more sheepishly.

Minseok’s gaze flicked up and down his body, lingering on his face and neck. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

It took a few minutes after he left for Sehun to gather himself and reply to Kyungsoo, letting him know he was ready.

“You look like shit.”

Sehun stumbled out of his shoes and gave Kris a flat look. “Thanks Kris. Why are you still awake?” Kris was sitting with long limbs curled up on the couch, lights low, reading a book.

“I don’t sleep well when Soo is away.” He closed his book, stretching. The smile that spread across his face as Kyungsoo walked in after Sehun made his heart hurt.

“I thought you were at the house today?” Sehun asked, as Kyungsoo stepped out of his own shoes and walked across the entry to fall into Kris’s open arms. “Luhan brought me a plate of your cooking.”

“Hi baby,” Kyungsoo croaked, nuzzling into Kris’s neck.

Sehun lost Kris to murmured greetings for a moment, the long sleeves of his black shirt covering all but the tips of his fingers as he cupped Kyungsoo’s face, kissing him softly.

“I stopped by for a few hours earlier this evening to make a bunch of food,” Kris finally replied, once Kyungsoo was comfortably settled in his lap. “Didn’t see you at all though.”

Sehun sprawled out on the floor in front of the couch, every part of him crying out in exhaustion. “I was busy planning the op for...” he looked at his watch, “later today. I had a lot to do, many briefings.”

“He talked to Junmyeon,” Kyungsoo said, like a traitor.

“You promised not to tell anyone,” Sehun whined, half-heartedly kicking at Kyungsoo. He’d said so in the car on the way home, coaxing Sehun to talk.

“I have husband privileges,” Kris smirked, gums showing as he smiled wide. “Did either of you resolve anything?”

He shrugged as much as one could while lying on the floor. “I guess? It’s not as tense now, at least.”

“Come on, let’s get in bed. There’s more for him to tell, but I want to be in a bed,” Kyungsoo urged, getting off Kris and narrowly avoiding planting a foot in Sehun’s stomach.

“I take it Sehun is sleeping with us again?”

“Yes,” Kyungsoo answered, before Sehun could draw a breath.

Sehun changed into sweats and a tank, brushing his teeth in the bathroom before padding quietly into the master suite. Kris was already in bed, looking half asleep. He blinked at Sehun and patted the spot next to him.

“What else happened, Hun?”

“Well, I talked to Tao for a while, told him everything that had happened.”

“Good! I’m glad you’re talking to other people,” Kris remarked.

“Wait until he tells you the rest,” Kyungsoo called from the bathroom.

Kris’s eyes sharpened. “Oh?”

“I also may have, uh, slept with him,” he mumbled.

Kris’s eyebrow made a strategic retreat into his hairline. “Uh, what?”

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo confirmed, coming out of the bathroom in nothing but underwear and his glasses, flopping onto Kris’s chest and making Kris wheeze as most of Kyungsoo’s weight fell on him.

“Look, it wasn’t my best moment, but Tao was chill with it. We talked about it.”

“Well thank fuck for that,” Kyungsoo said, voice muffled in Kris’s shoulder. “At least you’re learning.”

“Why?” Kris looked confused, which Sehun supposed was valid considering two nights before he’d cried to them about being in love with Junmyeon.

“I wanted to forget.”

“Did it work?”

“Not really.”

“Dumbass,” Kyungsoo slurred, sounding half asleep.

“Babe, you can’t sleep _on_ me all night,” Kris murmured softly, starting to carefully shift Kyungsoo off his chest.

“Watch me,” Kyungsoo growled, tightening his limbs around Kris. “Let me appreciate one of the reasons why I married you.”

Sehun felt sleep pulling at every limb, his eyes growing heavy. “I don’t know. It was what I needed at the time.”

“It bothered Junmyeon,” Kyungsoo added, graciously shifting until only half his body was on top of Kris. “He was in a snit the rest of the day. Came and bothered me in my office while I was trying to balance the books, asking if you had something going on with someone, which was interesting news to me at the time.”

“He what?” Suddenly he felt much more awake.

“Oh, didn’t I tell you?” Kyungsoo was definitely starting to slip into sleep. “Yeah, he was pretty upset.”

“I don’t know what to do with that information.”

“Sounds like Junmyeon has some feelings of his own,” Kris muttered, also drifting off. He gently took Kyungsoo’s glasses off and set them on the bedside table. “Talk to him again.”

Sehun remained silent, listening to Kris and Kyungsoo’s breathing even out into sleep, knowing that despite his swirling thoughts he wasn’t far behind.

He slipped into sleep without coming to any conclusions.

_“Nice to have you back in my ear, Sehun.”_

“It’s been less than a week since our last op, Hyung.” Sehun rolled his eyes, watching as Baekhyun’s dot traveled with Chanyeol’s. He was back in the manor, monitoring the initial stages of their plan from his ergonomically correct chair.

Jongin was sitting next to him, pouting because his shoulder had him out of commission for at least the next month. “What event are they conning their way into?”

“I’ve got them covers for a dinner the mayor is attending tonight.”

 _“We’re the distractions, keeping the mayor busy while Jongdae does some lifts and Junmyeon has a chance to seduce the wife away for the night.”_ Chanyeol’s voice was somehow deeper over the coms, and Sehun rolled his eyes.

 _“And please,”_ Minseok’s voice interrupted. _“Don’t let on that you know me. We shouldn’t have met before tonight.”_

 _“We know the drill, boss,”_ Jongdae chimed in. His motorcycle was making quick progress, set to arrive ten minutes before Baekhyun and Chanyeol, and twenty before Minseok and Tao.

 _“Give us a little credit,”_ Luhan added. He was already in position in the sub-levels of the building the dinner was at, patrolling and making sure they had another exit in case things went south. It wasn’t his normal role, but it was the best they could do with Jongin out for now.

“Remember what I told you,” Jongin said to Luhan, leaning forward slightly and wincing. “Hitting is your last resort. Try and maintain cover.”

 _“But killing is so much_ fun. _”_ Luhan sounded far too cheerful for such a grim phrase. _“Not to mention easier.”_

 _“I’d rather not leave a trail of bodies, Luhan,”_ Minseok chided. _“It’s counter-productive to my plans.”_

 _“What exactly are those, boss?”_ Baekhyun asked. So far, Sehun hadn’t seen any evidence that he possessed self-preservation instincts at all. _“We’re all dying to know.”_

 _“If you keep talking like this all night, I’m going to turn off my com, and then Sehun will be sad,”_ Junmyeon said, speaking softly. According to his tracker he was nearly there, also on his favorite motorcycle.

 _“We wouldn’t want that,”_ Tao chimed in, sounding snide.

There was no response from Junmyeon’s end.

Jongin turned to Sehun with an inquisitive expression.

Sehun muted their end of the coms while Baekhyun nervously prattled to fill the sudden silence. “Not a word, Jongin.”

“What did you do?”

“Nothing. It’s fine.” Sehun unmuted their com, not giving Jongin a chance to respond.

Too many people already knew, and he didn’t want his feelings to affect the efficiency of the team.

 _“Okay, Baek and Yeol have arrived,”_ Luhan reported.

 _“Wow, when the mayor goes all out for something he does it in style,”_ Baekhyun drawled. _“This place is fancy.”_

“Focus, people,” Sehun said, trying to keep everyone on track. By nature of being grifters, Baekhyun and Chanyeol usually played fast and loose with their covers, but this was the quickest they’d ever pulled together an op, and Sehun was anxious.

It was too important to mess up.

Baekhyun charmed his way through the guests that were already there as the others arrived and got into position. By the time Junmyeon had arrived, Minseok was already in talks with the mayor while Chanyeol and Baekhyun were keeping the wife entertained elsewhere.

“Jun, they’re ready for you to enter,” Sehun instructed, keeping a thread on the conversation with the wife. “Jongdae, standby.”

“Aren’t you going to hack the CCTV?” Jongin’s eyes were slightly glazed, and Sehun wondered how high out of his mind he was from the pain pills Yixing had given him.

Sehun hummed, then opened a private com to Jongdae. “Dae, can you plant one of my trojans in the security feed? I need visuals for this.”

 _“Can do,_ _you know where I need to go?”_ Jongdae replied.

Sehun pulled up the blueprints to the building and gave him directions. “This building is old, so you might have to put some muscle into the panel to get it open.”

 _“Don’t know why the mayor always has to hold these events in like,”_ a grunt, as Jongdae pulled on the panel, no doubt, _“fucking pre-war buildings. I get that they’re historic, but have you ever seen the ducts in one of these buildings? Nasty. I have to take like two showers just to get all my crevices clean after one of these jobs.”_

“I’m sure Baekhyun is thrilled to help you with that, though,” Sehun remarked, drumming his fingers while he waited for Jongdae to get him access.

Jongin gave a tiny cheer when the program beeped at him. A few swift keystrokes later and he was pulling up feeds from the security cameras. He opened the coms back up, taking Jongdae off private.

_“Baekhyun is thrilled at any chance he has to get up my sweet ass, but whether or not I let him is a whole different story.”_

He was so, so glad he had a visual so he could see the way Jongdae’s comment made Baekhyun choke on the champagne he was drinking. Baekhyun excused himself from the conversation with the mayor’s wife, giving Junmyeon room to insert himself into the conversation.

 _“Not to be inappropriate on a public channel,”_ Baekhyun began, seating himself at one of the tables for dinner, _“but I’m going to ream your ass so hard when we get home.”_

Sehun watched as Minseok turned away from his conversation with the mayor to cough into his sleeve, before growling, _“Boys. Behave.”_

Jongdae and Baekhyun went suspiciously quiet after that.

Jongin snickered in his chair, spinning it around slowly.

He turned his attention to the mayor. He was slightly grainy through the black and white feed, but Sehun could still see that he was fit. Trim in a way that implied he led a structured life, and that he was used to being in control. He was handsome too, although Sehun figured that was just something that came with being in public office. Pretty people had it easier, after all.

The mayor was talking to Minseok, bemoaning how he’d been struggling to find a new ADA. The last one had been shot, he was telling Minseok, who managed to look suitably distressed at the news. _“He was shot?”_

 _“Mmm, yes. Terrible, that,”_ the mayor muttered. _“He and his wife, both found dead. Several members of a prominent gang were also dead in the house. Police think it was a hit from one of the gangs ADA Jung was working to prosecute. Some of the men we found at the scene looked like they belonged to the Lee family.”_

Sehun exchanged a pointed look with Jongin, who winced and put a hand over his shoulder. Considering what the ADA had done to Junmyeon, he felt no remorse for his death, but they had made mistakes.

 _“How awful,”_ Minseok murmured. _“We must do something about the crime families in this city. They’ve run rampant far too long.”_

The mayor raised an eyebrow. _“Indeed.”_

_“Do the police have any suspects?”_

_“Nothing yet. Probably a lesser family that got to Jung first, then had to deal with the Lee thugs who were there for the same thing.”_

Something caught his attention as Minseok smoothy shifted the mayor’s attention to a different topic. Sehun pulled up the feed to Chanyeol’s glasses, watching more closely the exchange with Junmyeon and the mayor’s wife. “We might have a problem.”

Baekhyun turned to look back at Chanyeol and Junmyeon, and grimaced. _“Oh shit.”_

 _“What?”_ Jongdae appeared on the CCTV feed, back in the main room and returning to subtly patrolling around the room.

 _“She’s not buying what Junmyeon’s offering,”_ Baekhyun answered, smiling at a woman as she walked by and making her giggle.

“We need a new angle, then.” Sehun ran through the plan, looking at other possible contingencies and looking for something. “How does every plan we have hinge on Junmyeon seducing the wife?”

“Maybe she’s a lesbian?” Jongin blinked blearily at the feed from Chanyeol’s glasses. “Jun is pretty, but not enough to be a girl, you know?”

Minseok excused himself from his conversation with the mayor, and Sehun tracked him as he left the main hall. “ _We need leverage on the mayor. If not through the wife, then some other way.”_

“But we didn’t plan for this! It’s the one thing we assumed would be certain.” Sehun chewed at his cheek, not knowing what to do. He hated being unprepared.

 _“Uh, guys?”_ Jongdae cut in. _“Is it just me, or is the mayor eyeing Jun like a piece of meat?”_

Sehun focused back on the feeds, surprised to see the mayor running interested eyes over Junmyeon’s form as Junmyeon kept up his conversation with the wife. Minseok walked back into frame right as the bell for dinner rang, guiding the mayor and his wife to a table and seating Junmyeon on the mayor’s free side, himself on the wife’s.

Minseok tripped Junmyeon, making him stumble into the mayor, who caught him with a smile that made Sehun want to take a shower. Junmyeon was quick enough on the uptake to giggle and act flustered.

“Okay, Junmyeon, go after the mayor I guess,” Sehun said, rolling with Minseok’s non-verbal instructions. “We’re shifting targets on the fly, but the plan is the same. Be prepared for anything. You all know how to do your jobs.”

Dinner progressed after that, and Sehun watched as Junmyeon allowed himself to be charmed by the mayor, who steadily turned more and more of his attention onto him and less on the conversation his wife was having with Minseok. She may not have been interested in Junmyeon but judging by the way she kept leaning in to talk to Minseok, gentle touches landing on his arm or wrist, she was very interested in what he had to say.

Over at the next table, Baekhyun was watching them like a hawk, barely sparing a glance for Chanyeol—who was keeping their table entertained easily—or his food. He glared when the wife slipped her hand against Minseok’s thigh.

He looked, to Sehun, about one second from snarling.

 _“Jongdae, distract Baekhyun before he blows our cover,”_ Luhan said suddenly. He wasn’t anywhere that Sehun could see, but he was almost as good at going unseen as Jongdae when he wanted to be.

He grimaced as Jongdae quietly pulled Baekhyun away from dinner, moving out of the room. Sehun had been using Baekhyun’s glasses to keep a closer eye on Junmyeon, since he couldn’t stop from staring in that direction. He shrank the feed as Jongdae shoved him into the bathroom and locked the door, keeping it up but relegating it to the bottom corner of a screen.

“Are they going to…” Jongin trailed off, his eyes widening as Jongdae employed his usual methods of distracting Baekhyun by pinning him against the closest hard surface.

“I’d recommend not watching that feed for the next…” Sehun looked at his clock, “fifteen minutes or so.”

Jongin rolled his eyes and focused back on what Junmyeon was doing. “Wow, he’s good.”

“Yeah, he really is,” Sehun agreed, watching as Junmyeon made eating cheesecake look pornographic.

 _“When Jun sets his mind to something, he succeeds.”_ Luhan’s voice was hushed.

 _“Hyung, where exactly are you?”_ That was Tao, who had been patiently waiting outside the back exit in case he was needed.

_“In the ducts above the main dining area. Jongdae was right, they are gross.”_

Sehun sputtered. “Luhan, you’re supposed to be watching their exit!”

_“Relax. Dinner isn’t quite over and Junmyeon hasn’t secured the mayor yet. I’ve got time. Plus, I don’t think they’ll need me.”_

“Wow,” Jongin giggled. “This one is really going off the rails on you, huh?”

The only reason Sehun didn’t push Jongin out of his chair was because he’d been shot recently. Instead, he turned up the audio output for Baekhyun and Jongdae’s coms, letting their gasps and muffled moans fill the room.

Jongin wrinkled his nose. “Okay, sorry. Point taken.”

Sehun muted Jongdae and Baekhyun again. “You’re too high on pain meds to offer an opinion on how this op is going.”

He looked back at the screens and watched Minseok and Junmyeon work their magic. When the food was wrapping up and the event ending, Sehun opened up the lines to Baekhyun and Jongdae. “If you two are done, we could use Baekhyun’s help in keeping the wife distracted so Junmyeon can secure the mayor.”

 _“He’s on it,”_ Jongdae confirmed, and Sehun saw Baekhyun enter the CCTV feeds again.

Watching Baekhyun work a room—and the people in it—was like watching a ballet. Every move was choreographed, every gesture accounted for. When he easily guided Minseok and the mayor’s wife far enough away from the mayor for Junmyeon to boldly whisper in his ear, nobody even batted an eye.

“Tao,” Sehun started, keeping his voice soft so as not to distract the others. “Do we have a room ready for Junmyeon?”

 _“Yeah, a room at the_ Shilla _is waiting.”_

“Luhan?”

 _“Are we still doing the same thing?”_ Luhan asked when Sehun prompted him. _“I thought the plan had changed.”_

“The target has changed; plan stays the same. Minseok and Junmyeon have course adjusted, and we’re back on track. Only difference is that the mayor is the one who got stuck in the honey.”

 _“I’ll get in position, then,”_ Luhan said easily. _“Moving now.”_

“Baekhyun, drive Junmyeon’s bike to the hotel so he has a way home,” Sehun added, waiting for Baekhyun to give him an affirmative before closing most of the coms, only leaving Luhan’s and Junmyeon’s open.

Sehun yawned, feeling fatigue hit him as Minseok offered to take the mayor’s wife home since the mayor suddenly had important business to attend to. He shook his head, rubbed his eyes, and tried to ignore the lurch his stomach gave when Junmyeon slid into the mayor’s car with a sweet, disarming smile.

“Are we almost done?” Jongin asked, his eyes barely open.

“You can go to bed. Probably should. I need to stay up and make sure that Luhan gets what he needs, and that Junmyeon gets back safe.”

“You’re going to be up all night. Are you sure you don’t want me to stick around?”

Sehun looked pointedly between Jongin’s wound and his face. “You’re injured and exhausted, you should definitely sleep.”

 _“Nini, please sleep,”_ Chanyeol urged, talking freely now that he was clear of the party. _“You’re no good to us like this. We can cuddle, if you want, when I get home.”_

“Okay, Yeol.” He turned to Sehun. “Good luck.”

Yeah, he would need it.

It didn’t take Luhan as long to get the money shot as he thought it would, but it definitely took longer than he wanted it to. Junmyeon didn’t mute his com, this time, so Sehun had to listen to far too many minutes of Junmyeon moaning and sighing as the mayor fucked him.

Sehun leaned back in his chair and tried to ignore it, although a distant part of his mind supplied memories from a few days ago—had it been so few? It felt like an eternity ago—and that at least with him, Junmyeon’s sighs of pleasure hadn’t sounded as forced.

They’d sounded genuine.

Maybe he was just deluding himself, though. Wishful thinking.

 _“You doing okay, Sehunnie?”_ Luhan’s voice sounded bland, like he was keeping his voice stripped from emotion.

“Better than you, I’m sure,” Sehun said glibly, knowing Luhan was stuck watching Junmyeon work the mayor into a position compromising enough.

_“I don’t know. Junmyeon is so pretty, it’s not that bad.”_

Sehun rolled his eyes even as he felt like gagging a little. He didn’t want to think about what Junmyeon looked like right now, when he had someone else’s hands on him.

Jealousy surged through him, and he struggled to push it aside. He did bad things when he was jealous.

“Just get the damn shot, Lu. I’m sure Junmyeon doesn’t appreciate us chatting in his ear while he’s trying to do his job.”

_“Relax, babe. I’ve got several that are compromising enough for Minseok’s needs.”_

“Then why are you still there?” Sehun wanted to put his head through the desk. “Let Junmyeon keep his dignity.”

 _“Yes,”_ Junmyeon whispered in a drawn-out moan.

_“Alright, I’m packing up. Sehun, I’ll be there in twenty. Signing off the coms now.”_

Sehun didn’t bother saying anything. Luhan was quick, and it wasn’t long before his tracker started moving.

Without Luhan chattering, Junmyeon’s sounds were more obvious, the only thing he had to focus on. He seriously contemplated muting the com, but he needed to know that Junmyeon was okay. That he would be okay.

“We’ve got what we need, Jun. If you’re not into it get out of there.”

Junmyeon whimpered lowly, a sound that hit Sehun like a brick.

 _“You like that, pretty boy?”_ The mayor’s voice was strained, and while Sehun didn’t have anything against him personally, he suddenly hated him in that moment.

If there was one person Sehun knew, it was Junmyeon. He’d spent his years on the team studying him, learning all his idiosyncrasies, so when Junmyeon moaned a breathy, _“Yes.”_ Sehun knew it was forced.

He didn’t want to listen to Junmyeon. It was bad enough when he was actually enjoying himself, but Sehun could count on one hand the number of times Junmyeon had left his com on while doing the less pleasant parts of his job, and they had all been back when Sehun had first joined the team.

“Junmyeon, listen to me. Let me help you get through this?”

What. Was he doing.

_“A-ah, yes. Mmphf.”_

“Remember how good it was, with us?” Sehun gulped. He shouldn’t do this. It was only going to tear his heart wide open again, but he wanted Junmyeon to feel good, and the mayor wasn’t going to do it. “How good you felt against me?”

 _“F-feel so good.”_ A soft, broken moan. The same sound that had haunted Sehun’s dreams the last few nights. _“So guh-good.”_

“I love the way your skin felt under my hands, so soft and smooth. The way your hips felt against mine, how hot and tight and _blissful_ you felt around me.”

Junmyeon’s gasps were broken up, stuttering around moans.

“I’ll never forget the way you felt around my fingers, how nice it was to watch you arch every time I found what I was looking for, the way you sounded when I did something that made you feel good.” He crossed his legs, the memories he was reliving making him feel hot under the collar, fingers twitching on the desk.

_“More, more, please.”_

The mayor said something in response to that, but Sehun barely heard him, complying with Junmyeon’s request. “I think, what I enjoyed most of all, was the way you sounded when you came. The way your breath hitched, and your hips stuttered against mine. The way you clenched down around me in ways that still haunt me.” He licked his lips. “I’m haunted by you, by the ghost of your fingertips against my skin, the feeling of your lips against my neck.”

Junmyeon whined, high and strained, his voice sounding muffled and close, like he was pressing his face to the sheets. _“Sehun,”_ he whispered, voice catching on a long, low groan at the end.

He could hear the blood rushing in his ears, Junmyeon’s voice whispering his name as he came repeating through his mind on loop.

The sound of Junmyeon’s breathing was the only thing he could hear, gradually slowing. The mayor said something, too soft for Sehun to hear.

 _“No, I think I’ll head out now,”_ Junmyeon replied.

“Come home, Junmyeon.” He tried not to make it sound like a plea.

 _“I’m on my way,”_ he said, to Sehun, a few minutes later. _“I’ll see you soon, Sehunnie.”_

The second Junmyeon’s tracker pulled into the house garage, Sehun raced to the foot of the stairs, waiting in the entry for Junmyeon to walk through the door. His fingertips tingled, heart racing as he stared unblinking at the door. His mouth was dry. He felt simultaneously like he might explode from his skin or shrink down to nothing. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

Junmyeon walked through the door, motorcycle helmet in hand, and paused when he saw Sehun waiting for him a few paces away. His hair was disheveled, clothes slightly askew from the ride back home, his skin flushed. But he was nothing other than beautiful to Sehun.

Always.

Junmyeon placed his helmet down on the table in the entry, peeling off his gloves slowly. His eyes remained trained on Sehun, dark and steady, intense.

He couldn’t breathe.

Junmyeon approached, steps measured, like he was waiting for Sehun to back away, to flinch, to breathe wrong.

He maintained eye contact, lungs burning. He didn’t know what was going to happen.

Junmyeon came close, tilting his head up to look at Sehun, eyes so dark he couldn’t tell where pupil stopped and iris began.

Junmyeon surged up on his toes in the same moment Sehun bent down, meeting in the middle, lips hot and insistent and _needy._

Sehun gasped against Junmyeon’s lips, lungs aching as he drew his first breath in who knows how long, bringing one hand up to cup Junmyeon’s jaw, the other around his waist, pulling him in as close as he could. Junmyeon threw his arms around his neck, leaning on him more fully, backing Sehun up against the banister of the stairs.

Wood dug painfully against his lower back, but it was nothing compared to how good it felt to kiss Junmyeon. He felt too hot, warm from the inside out, everywhere Junmyeon touched felt like licks of flame dancing across his skin, burning in the best way.

“Myeon,” Sehun whispered, playfully licking at Junmyeon’s upper lip before kissing him deeply, claiming in a way he wouldn’t be if he wasn’t trying to erase all traces of another man. Something started screeching in the back of his mind, but he pushed it away.

Nothing was more important than the way Junmyeon was straining up on his toes, pressed as close to Sehun as he could be, hands digging into his shoulders.

“Please,” Junmyeon whimpered, clinging tightly to Sehun, teeth dragging against his bottom lip. “Help me forget him.”

He couldn’t help the low rumble that echoed in his chest—not quite a growl, but louder than a hum—or the sudden need to lift Junmyeon into his arms, hands beneath his thighs, Junmyeon wrapping around him like a koala. It was an eerie echo of what had happened with Tao a few days ago, and he tried not to think about it too much.

Somehow, he managed to kiss Junmyeon, carry him upstairs, and stumble into his room. He hadn’t slept in it since the last time he was here with Junmyeon, and if he’d had more blood in his head and less rushing south, he might have taken a moment to notice the sheer irony of such a thing.

As it was, though, nothing else seemed more important than doing exactly what Junmyeon had asked of him, pressing him into the rumpled sheets and making him forget.

Like Sehun could ever stop himself from doing whatever Junmyeon asked of him.

“What do you need,” Sehun asked, words muffled against the skin of Junmyeon’s neck, hands working their way past his shirt, desperate to feel his skin. “How can I help you?”

Junmyeon locked his legs around Sehun’s hips, keeping him close, or from going anywhere. As if he would. “Like this, slow and soft.”

He found one of Junmyeon’s hands against the bed, raising it to his lips and kissing his palm. “Okay.”

It was so, so easy to give Junmyeon exactly what he’d asked for. Taking his clothes off bit by bit, taking his time and letting his hands and lips coax all manner of sounds from Junmyeon. Sounds that—Sehun noted—had much less structure to them, like they were a result of what Sehun was doing rather than a memorized script of sounds.

Junmyeon’s fingers dug into the skin of his back, arching under him as Sehun got two slick fingers in him, knowing he wouldn’t need much all things considered. He still took his time.

He hovered above Junmyeon, propped up on an elbow, going by feel rather than sight. Searching Junmyeon’s gaze as he fingered him slowly, using three fingers to tease more than to stretch. Junmyeon’s eyelids fluttered as he rubbed his walls, mouth falling open at the sensation as Sehun pumped his fingers slowly.

“Look at me,” Sehun demanded, pressing up against Junmyeon’s prostate and making him gasp aloud. He wanted Junmyeon to _see_ him.

Junmyeon looked back at him, whatever he found in Sehun’s gaze making him whimper softly, his knees tightening around Sehun’s waist.

This was a bad idea.

“Sehun, I—”

He twisted his fingers, spreading them, making Junmyeon gasp and squirm slightly. He didn’t want to know what Junmyeon had been about to say. And if that meant he had to reduce Junmyeon to a puddle of sensation and pleasure then he would, happily, to spare his bruised heart.

Junmyeon reached down to tug at the waistband of his pants, and Sehun raised his hips, giving Junmyeon easier access as he struggled to slide his sweats and underwear down his hips. Junmyeon scrambled against the sheets until his fingers found the lube Sehun had tossed aside, gentle hands coating Sehun’s length quickly.

“Condom?” Sehun asked.

“I’m clean.” Junmyeon hesitated, then softly said, “I want to feel you, if you’re okay with that.”

He buried his face in Junmyeon’s shoulder, muffling a groan into his skin. “Okay. Okay.” He withdrew his fingers, lining up.

“Wait.” Junmyeon put a hand to his chest.

Sehun froze immediately, his dick pressing against Junmyeon’s entrance. He quivered, holding himself still as he searched Junmyeon’s face.

Carefully, Junmyeon urged him onto his back, straddling his hips and looking down at Sehun. When he registered the curious look Sehun was giving him, he smiled in a way that felt...almost shy. “I never want to see them, look at them. But I want to see you.”

“Oh.”

Junmyeon bit his lip. “I just. I need to be in control, right now?” He squirmed in place a little—something Sehun’s dick was _very_ okay with, all things considered—and braced himself with hands on Sehun’s chest. “Is that okay?”

He reached up with his clean hand, thumb stroking Junmyeon’s cheek. “Of course, Myeonnie.” He took a deep breath as Junmyeon lined up, exhaling as Junmyeon started to sink down. “Take whatever you need. Just w-want you to feel good.”

The sound Junmyeon made, when their hips were flush, was something he knew he’d never forget. Rich, throaty, filling the spaces between Sehun’s rib with it. Junmyeon leaned down, hips moving in small circles as he adjusted, and kissed Sehun slowly, leaving teasing nips to his bottom lip.

“I love how good it feels with you,” he confessed, lips trailing down his jaw, lingering in spots.

Sehun hoped that he left marks. He wanted to remember this, even if it hurt later.

“I want you to feel good.” Sehun ran his hands up and down Junmyeon’s back, fingers kneading at the base of his spine to ease the tension Junmyeon always carried there. “Anything.”

Junmyeon sat up, swirled his hips, and effectively removed Sehun’s ability to speak.

He gripped at Junmyeon’s thighs, feeling them flex and work under his hands, watching as Junmyeon rolled his neck, breathing deeply, bracing his hands on Sehun’s forearms in a touch that burned.

He kept it slow, easy movements until Sehun could feel his muscles shaking with the strain. It only took a breathy whine for him to plant his feet and help, thrusting up into Junmyeon, letting him place his hands on Sehun’s knees to keep his balance.

“You feel s-so good,” Junmyeon groaned, mouth dropping open as Sehun increased the pace slightly, letting his hands wander freely over Junmyeon’s chest and skin, tugging gently at his cock every so often.

Pride and pleasure swelled within, a combination that was as intoxicating as it was overwhelming.

“Please,” Junmyeon gasped, falling forward as his legs gave out. “I want—ngh—harder.”

Sehun rolled them over, giving Junmyeon a moment to adjust before sliding back in. He had more leverage that way, more power, but Junmyeon still had the control. His fingers in Sehun’s hair, heels digging into the backs of his thighs, urging him on. Sehun was a marionette, and Junmyeon held all his strings, whether he knew it or not.

Once he got a hand around Junmyeon, it didn’t take him long to come, clenching down on Sehun and arching up against him at the same time, eyelids fluttering as his voice broke around a moan.

“Se-Sehun.”

With a cry, he found himself coming as well, burying his face into Junmyeon’s shoulder and biting down as his hips stuttered. Hearing Junmyeon whisper his name as he came over coms was one thing, but to hear it in person, right against his ear.

This was such a colossal mistake.

He rolled off Junmyeon gently, flopping onto his back as his chest heaved, recovering. Instead of letting himself dwell on how impulsive and careless he’d been with his own heart, he slowly got up and grabbed a towel to wipe them both clean of cum and lube. He didn’t know what he was more afraid of—Junmyeon staying, or leaving like he did last time.

He gingerly got beneath the covers. Junmyeon was watching him, eyes dark and unreadable, and Sehun was so terrified that the wrong movement would spook him. As soon as he was settled, Junmyeon crawled over to him, draping himself over Sehun’s chest and curling a leg around Sehun’s in a way that felt distinctly possessive.

For a moment, Sehun didn’t know where to put his hands before he chided himself and held Junmyeon like he normally would. This was no different than all the times before when Junmyeon would come home from an assignment and Sehun would cuddle him to sleep. Except they were naked.

And they’d just had sex.

It was fine.

Junmyeon shifted, tracing one of Sehun’s eyebrows with his thumb before leaning down and kissing him softly, tenderly, in a way that made Sehun’s heart ache and his eyes burn. Longing nearly choked him as it crawled up his throat with tenacious fingers.

It wasn’t fine.

Nothing about this was fine, but he was too weak to stop kissing Junmyeon—didn’t _want_ to stop kissing Junmyeon—and if this was all he would get, it would be enough.

“Thank you, Sehun,” Junmyeon murmured, right against his mouth, the words a secret for just them to know. “Thank you.”

Sehun fell asleep with Junmyeon’s kiss still tingling on his lips.

Waking up was a slow process, until it wasn’t.

He came aware of things in increments. He was a little too hot, the room warm with afternoon sun. Not unusual, he supposed, since he’d been up until the earliest hours of the morning with Junmyeon.

Junmyeon.

He breathed deeply, trying to sort through his feelings with his sleepy mind. Regret felt like too strong of a word for what he felt, but maybe...trepidation? He knew what had happened last night was probably a mistake, but he couldn’t bring himself to regret it, really. He had wanted it, Junmyeon had needed it.

Simple.

An arm was thrown across his chest as Junmyeon shifted next to him, bare skin sticking together. He blinked his eyes open, looking over at a sleeping Junmyeon. He looked so soft and small, in the vulnerability of sleep. His dark hair was tousled and wavy, still styled from last night, his eyes smudged with the lightest tracing of eyeliner.

His eyes opened suddenly, looking directly at Sehun, catching him. Whatever vulnerability he’d had in sleep, it vanished with the appearance of that guarded gaze, the face that gave very little away. The air crackled between them, tension rising.

Sehun didn’t know what to do. Normally, waking up next to Junmyeon was a quiet, easy affair. He would hug him close, ask if he was okay, and Junmyeon would nod and slip away. But Sehun didn’t know how to navigate this. Not when they’d slept together...again. Not when Junmyeon had _stayed._

It meant more to him than it probably should have, that Junmyeon was still there in the daylight. That he hadn’t snuck away before Sehun had woken.

He didn’t move. Terrified to break the fragile moment.

Junmyeon moved first, leaning up onto one elbow, hovering over Sehun slightly. He brushed their noses together, slowly, blinking rapidly.

Sehun’s breath caught in his throat, watching as Junmyeon’s eyes flicked between his own and his lips. His breath left him entirely when Junmyeon brushed their lips together, so tenderly it broke Sehun’s heart.

He brought a hand up, tangling it in those silky locks, too gentle to keep Junmyeon in place, but hoping he would linger. Junmyeon sighed, lips sliding with Sehun’s in a languid, delicate press. Sehun didn’t know what to think. Not anymore.

Because the way Junmyeon was kissing him...it wasn’t like any other kiss they’d shared before. It wasn’t filled with heat, or relentless passion. It felt _real._ Like maybe Junmyeon was trying to tell him something with every slow glide of their mouths, with each gentle brush of his tongue against Sehun’s lips.

Junmyeon kissed him like he _meant_ something, and Sehun couldn’t help but get lost in it, desperate for Junmyeon to care for him.

He let Junmyeon press him into the sheets, draw him into kiss after lazy kiss, not building up to anything, just kissing, sweet and easy. His hands trailed down his back, rubbing along the indent of his waist before circling his arms around Junmyeon, keeping him close.

Keeping him there.

Junmyeon pulled away after a long, sun-soaked moment, smiling softly at Sehun. “Hi.”

“Good afternoon.” He couldn’t stop himself from kissing Junmyeon softly on the tip of his nose. If he were braver, he might think about mentioning last night. But he couldn’t bring himself to talk, too afraid it would lead to asking what that kiss was about. “Sleep well?” he asked, like a coward.

Junmyeon hummed. “Yes. You?”

Sehun nodded. “Yeah.”

And just like that, it was over. Junmyeon slipped from his arms and started dressing. “I’ll see you at the debrief tonight. I’ve got a few things to take care of before then.”

Ah, right. Minseok would definitely want to talk to them, especially Junmyeon. “See you later, then.”

With a tiny smile, Junmyeon quietly left his room.

What was he _doing?_

Several hours and one of Kyungsoo’s meals later, he still had no idea what he was doing. He’d gone back to Kyungsoo’s house with him, partly to gather up the rest of his stuff and move it back to the manor, partly to take another breather from the house itself. Junmyeon had retreated to his room, and rather than linger in the odd tension Sehun had left to stew in his own worries.

“Did you do something stupid again?”

Sehun looked up to glare at Kyungsoo, who was standing over him with a blank expression. “No.” He crossed his arms, sinking further into the couch.

Kyungsoo was relentless.

“Okay, probably.”

“You slept with him again, didn’t you?”

He gave Kyungsoo his most pathetic look. “I’m stupid, aren’t I?”

Kyungsoo’s mouth did several different things before settling into a frown. “No, you aren’t.”

“Really? Because your face is saying I am.”

“What you _did,_ maybe. But not you.” Kyungsoo sighed. “You have the habit of doing before you think.”

He could see how Kyungsoo might have a point. He shifted uncomfortably. “And that’s bad?”

“For someone like me? No. But for someone like you, who pretends you don’t have feelings and pushes them aside to deal with later, yes. I think you’re so used to barreling forward, relying on charisma and stubbornness to get what you want, that you forget to slow down and let your emotions catch up until they’re choking you.”

Sehun blinked at Kyungsoo, dumbfounded.

Kris walked in the door. “Good evening,” he hummed, walking over to where Kyungsoo was, breezing past a frozen Sehun. He cupped Kyungsoo’s face and tipped it back, kissing him in greeting. He made Kyungsoo look comically small and delicate despite his sturdiness when he was framed by Kris’ long limbs.

“Kris, your husband is bullying me.”

“Did he say something about you that was scarily accurate?” Kris smiled down at Kyungsoo, disgustingly besotted. “He does that sometimes, usually when you least expect it.”

Kyungsoo smiled up at Kris—a tiny, satisfied thing—and adjusted his glasses before leveling Sehun with a look. “You know I’m right.”

“Just because you’re right doesn’t mean you should say it.” Sehun pouted but relented when Kyungsoo gave him a flat look.

Kris wrapped himself around Kyungsoo, humming happily. “Hope your day was great, babe.” He fixed a look at Sehun. “Are you talking about Junmyeon?”

“You know, I’m beginning to regret ever telling you two.”

“No, you aren’t,” Kyungsoo declared, he and Kris moving to the couch with an eerie coordination and settled next to Sehun, somehow more entwined than they’d been a moment ago. “You need somewhere safe to express all those feelings you pretend not to feel.”

Kris nodded sagely. “You know whatever you say here doesn’t leave this house.” He reached out to ruffle Sehun’s hair. “We’re here for you.”

“Thanks. Really.” He shifted to cuddle up to them a little more, resting his head on Kris’s shoulder.

“Are you going to hide out here again?” Kyungsoo asked, his head lolling against Kris’s chest.

“No, I’m going to get the last of the things I left here and go back to the manor.” Sehun tried to relax the crease he knew he had between his eyes. “I can’t hide forever.”

“What’s this?” drawled Kyungsoo. “Character development?”

Sehun grabbed a nearby throw pillow and shoved it in Kyungsoo’s face, abruptly ending the conversation.

By the time Sehun made it back to the house, he was nearly late for Minseok’s briefing. He barely had time to drop his stuff in his room before running downstairs and grabbing his laptop, rushing into the dining room with a breathless, “Sorry, I know I’m late.”

Kris, Kyungsoo and Yixing were notably absent, but everyone else was around the table, looking at him as he slid into his seat across from Junmyeon, who glanced at him briefly. At least he wasn’t pretending Sehun didn’t exist—a marked improvement from the last time they had one of these.

Minseok cleared his throat. “Now that we’re all here, Luhan, do you have photos for me?”

Junmyeon shifted slightly. Nobody else noticed it, Sehun was sure, but he’d been attuned to Junmyeon for so long it was second nature to make note of his discomfort.

“Yeah, some real zingers in there,” Luhan remarked, sliding a file across the table to Minseok. “Should be enough to get you whatever leverage you need on him.”

A single eyebrow raise was Minseok’s only reaction as he looked through the photos, absently swatting Baekhyun away as he tried to sneak a peek. Across from him, Junmyeon sank slightly in his seat.

“These will do. Well done, Junmyeon.”

“Are you going to tell us what the plan is, now?” Chanyeol asked, tipping onto the back legs of his chair as he studied their boss.

“My plan is to get the mayor in my pocket,” Minseok replied, calmly placing the photos back in the folder and linking his hands over them on the table.

“Yes, but why?” Luhan rolled his neck, several joints cracking. “We’ve risked a lot to get this much on him.”

Minseok’s lips thinned. “I can’t tell you yet.”

A heavy silence settled over the table. Sehun hadn’t expected Minseok to tell them anything, but he knew the others were less willfully ignorant than he.

“At some point you’re going to have to tell us, boss,” Chanyeol reasoned.

“Sometime, yes. But not yet.” Minseok fixed them all with a steely gaze. “You need to trust that you’ll all know when I need you to know.”

“Are any of us at risk of being injured?” Tao asked, expression serious. “We’re already down Jongin.”

“I can work!” Jongin protested. “I’m used to being injured.”

“I think Yixing would disagree, were he here,” Jongdae pointed out.

“There’s always risk,” Minseok said, answering Tao. “But if you trust me, you know I’ll do everything to keep you all safe.”

Sehun looked up from his hands and found Junmyeon staring at him. He quirked an eyebrow at Junmyeon, who stifled a smile behind his hand and looked away.

“So, what’s next, then?” Baekhyun was asking, leaning into Jongdae’s side. “Do we have a new job?”

“For now, everyone should rest up. I’ll be sending out plans to Sehun in the next few days, so get some relaxation in before you’re called in by him for prep.” Minseok stood from the table. “You’re all dismissed.”

Sehun tried to keep his expression neutral as Baekhyun and Jongdae exchanged a look and got up to quickly follow after Minseok. Chanyeol employed his height and muscles to carry a protesting Jongin downstairs, while Tao rolled his eyes and started talking lowly with Luhan. When he shifted his gaze back to Junmyeon, it was to find an empty seat.

His stomach sank, but he endeavored to push it aside. He needed to accept that Junmyeon couldn’t be persuaded to return his feelings—if he even knew about them. Despite the depth of his love and affection for Junmyeon, in many ways he was still a mystery to Sehun. It was on him to manage his own feelings and expectations.

For now, he would take what Junmyeon was willing to give. He stood, quietly heading upstairs to his bedroom to sulk in privacy.

Struggling to temper the hope that had begun to unfurl after last night, Sehun didn’t notice that the seldom-used coat closet in the upstairs hallway was cracked ajar, or the hand that reached out to snag his wrist as he passed.

“What—” The door clicked shut behind him as he was pressed up against it, another mouth hungrily kissing the rest of his question from his lips.

For a split second he thought it might have been Tao, until he registered the hand wrapped around the back of his neck, tilting his face down. Junmyeon, then, he decided, as he settled his hands around the increasingly familiar span of his waist. He pulled away to say something, what exactly he didn’t know, only to have Junmyeon relentlessly chase after his lips, not giving him space to speak.

Sehun melted against the door, the quiet scent of seldom-used winter coats and the close, dark space made everything feel hushed, sound dampened in the limited space. Their shared breathing was loud in his ears as kissing took precedence over breathing. Junmyeon didn’t give him a chance to talk, nipping at his lip or sucking on his tongue each time he tried to.

It became clear very quickly that Junmyeon wasn’t going to let him, so Sehun spoke with his actions instead. It was always said that they spoke louder than words anyway. Gone was the hesitance of his movements. Junmyeon had initiated, and despite the dull ache that remained from the last time Junmyeon had kissed him, Sehun remained optimistic that there was more to it now, that Junmyeon was a little gentler with whatever knowledge he’d gleaned from their previous encounters.

So instead of asking what Junmyeon was doing, he gripped his hips harder, lining them up through their pants and pressing Junmyeon close, their legs slotting together. One of Junmyeon’s hands tugged at his hair, the other fisted in Sehun’s t-shirt, his lips never ceasing their barrage of Sehun’s mouth. Junmyeon rolled his hips, grinding against Sehun’s thigh as his lips slowed down, sucking and licking at his lips slowly instead of fiercely.

 _I care for you,_ his hands said, as he trailed one from Junmyeon’s waist to press between his shoulder blades, steadying Junmyeon as he swayed slightly, before continuing up to his neck, thumb brushing against his jaw.

 _Crave you,_ he conveyed, sliding the hand on Junmyeon’s hip into his back pocket, squeezing slightly and making Junmyeon hum softly.

Sehun changed the angle of their kiss, leaning over more so that Junmyeon wasn’t rocking dangerously on his tip-toes. He licked against the roof of his mouth, hunger awakening at the whimper it pulled from Junmyeon, clutching him as close as he could, hoping that somehow Junmyeon would realize Sehun never wanted to be parted from him again.

The hands that shifted down Sehun’s chest and toward his waistline spoke of a cruel hunger, one that could be temporarily fed, but never fully satiated. Not when it was a hunger for Junmyeon. He didn’t stop him as Junmyeon slipped the button free of his jeans and pressed his hand inside, rubbing Sehun enticingly and pulling a low moan from his throat. Breathing became harder the closer Junmyeon got.

It was a small mercy when Junmyeon finally moved from his mouth, kissing along his jaw until he’d reached his neck, stopping for a moment to linger at the skin beneath Sehun’s ear. He panted, trying to regain some of the air Junmyeon had stolen from his lungs, hitching as Junmyeon pulled him free of his pants and started to stroke in earnest.

“Jun—” he tried to say, before two of Junmyeon’s fingers were in his mouth pressing down on his tongue as if in warning.

Sehun did the only thing he could think of. He released his hold on Junmyeon in favor of undoing his pants and freeing his length, swatting Junmyeon’s hand out of the way after holding up his palm for Junmyeon to lick, then wrapping his larger hand around the both of them.

It was rough, without lube, and it would likely have him a little tender for the next few days, but it was enough for Sehun, who groaned around Junmyeon’s fingers. Junmyeon bit at his neck, then sucked to leave a mark, moaning as Sehun twisted his wrist, keeping the pace slow for a while before gradually starting to speed up.

With the closet as small, it was also too dark for Sehun to see Junmyeon’s face, and without any sound it was difficult to tell what was working and what wasn’t. It took him a little by surprise when he felt Junmyeon throb in his hold, heat dripping over his hand as Junmyeon came, his cum easing the way as Sehun finished quickly, pulling Junmyeon in with his other hand to kiss him deeply as he tumbled over the edge.

For all that he’d kept trying to talk with Junmyeon at first, now as they were kissing in the afterglow, he couldn’t think of a single thing he wanted to talk about if it couldn’t be said through kissing. Junmyeon grasped blindly behind him until he found a coat, pulling it from the hanger to wipe Sehun’s hand clean, peppering his face with small kisses every so often until he was done, and then he reached back up to pull Sehun down into a long, languid kiss.

Eventually, Sehun fumbled around enough to tuck himself back in, and then Junmyeon, before pulling Junmyeon close and holding him tightly, unwilling to let go or stop kissing when it felt so good.

Slowly, Junmyeon spun them around, Sehun feeling the weight of the coats against his back, before light pierced the space, temporarily blinding him. When his eyes stopped watering, Junmyeon was gone.

It was odd to have an encounter like that and then realize Junmyeon had disappeared into the fucking wind.

All he wanted was to walk over to Junmyeon and drag his mouth up to his, kiss him hard enough to make him forget about everything he’d ever known that wasn’t Sehun. He wanted to carve out a space in Junmyeon’s chest and squeeze himself in there, snug and warm, right next to his heart like Junmyeon had done to him.

He couldn’t do that, though, if Junmyeon didn’t want to be found. So instead, he spent the next two days watching movies with Jongin (who was still alarmingly loopy on the pain meds Yixing kept forcing down his throat every time he stopped by to check Jongin’s wound) and getting his ass kicked in some light sparring with Tao.

“Are you doing okay, Sehun?”

He nearly dropped the plate of food he was taking to the microwave to re-heat at the sound of Jongdae’s voice. “Fuck, Jongdae. You scared the shit out of me.”

“Good. If I couldn’t sneak up on you then I wouldn’t be here.” Jongdae settled himself on one of the bar stools at the kitchen island, studying Sehun. “Answer my question, Sehunnie.”

He groaned a little at the nickname as he started the timer. “I’m fine, Jongdae. Why do you ask?”

Jongdae blinked at him, expression blank for a long moment. “You live in a house of grifters and spies, Sehun. We’re all highly skilled in observation. A normie could notice how tense things have been between you and Junmyeon lately.”

Sehun turned back to the microwave, watching the numbers tick down. It was easier than dealing with Jongdae’s highly perceptive gaze. “Everything is fine, Jongdae. There’s nothing weird going on between me and Junmyeon.”

“Then what was that hanky panky in the coat closet a few days ago?”

Sehun choked on an inhale. “Hanky panky?” He wheezed out a laugh. “Jongdae, you’re such a fucking idiot.”

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. But you still have to answer my question.”

The microwave dinged, and he retrieved his food. “I don’t have to answer shit.”

“Aw, come on,” Jongdae needled. “It’s obvious you’re fucking.”

“Yeah, just like it’s obvious that you and Baekhyun are _both_ fucking Minseok.”

Jongdae went a little pale, then blushed vibrantly. “W-what?”

“I have cameras everywhere in this house, Jongdae.” He didn’t, but the lie was worth it for the way Jongdae looked over his shoulder in newfound paranoia. “You don’t want to play this game with me.”

“Damn, you would have been a good grifter, Sehunnie.” Jongdae plastered a smile on his face. “But you’re wrong. We aren’t sleeping with Minseok.”

Sehun merely raised an eyebrow in response to that, and quickly slipped from the kitchen, making a break for his room and locking the door behind him. Not that it would stop Jongdae _or_ Baekhyun if they really wanted to get in, but they usually respected the principle of the locked door. Living in this house was so dangerous, sometimes.

He did his best to shrug off the strange encounter, eating quickly and thinking about equipment upgrades he could implement and staunchly refusing to think about Junmyeon.

Sehun spent a very quiet day in his cave. Everyone else must have been busy doing something else (read here: fucking each other stupid), because he was the only one in this godforsaken house that wasn’t in a relationship.

Okay, obviously that wasn’t true, but it felt like it sometimes. Chanyeol, Tao and Jongin were all single as well, and nobody knew anything about Luhan, really, so he was in good—if not shady—company. Out of an increasing sense of boredom, he wondered if he shouldn’t go and pull Junmyeon out of whatever foxhole he’d hidden himself in, but Junmyeon wouldn’t really appreciate being found if he wasn’t ready, and Sehun was tired of pushing only to have Junmyeon run in the other direction.

There was only so much his heart could take.

“Mind if I drop in?”

He needed to start locking the door—not that it would stop Luhan from going anywhere he liked—or learn how to not jump out of his skin every time one of the spooks managed to sneak up on him.

“Do you ever knock?” Sehun frowned at Luhan as he walked in and sat in the second chair.

“What does it matter? You’re going to jump either way.”

“You’re so infuriating.”

“What are you working on?”

He sighed but let Luhan change the subject. He happily explained what the software updates would do for the sound quality of their earpieces, and the way he’d managed to find a way to put cameras in the wire-rimmed glasses Baekhyun loved to use for more casual grifts. “Plus! I found a way to implement my fingerprint tech into your guns.”

Luhan blinked at him blankly. “Once more, for the layman?”

“It’s actually really cool!” Sehun pulled up the specs on his computer. “I’ve scanned your entire handprint into this tech, and once I make a few modifications to your guns, they’ll only fire if they register your hand print on the grip.”

“Define ‘modifications’?”

“I’d need to remove the textured plates on your grip, put a thin overlay on them that’s capable of reading your prints, install a chip in the stock that employs the safety if anyone other than you gets their hands on your gun, and then run some test diagnostics.”

“You want to...take apart my babies?”

Sehun rolled his eyes. “You can do it for me, I just need the access. It’s not going to do anything other than keep you safer out in the field.”

Luhan squinted at him. “If this works like you say it will, it’s going to be some real James Bond shit.”

“I know!” Sehun couldn’t help but bounce slightly in excitement. “I did a prototype of this on Tao’s guns, and it’s been good for him. I’ve worked out all the bugs now. We can test it on one of your less important guns first, and then slowly integrate it into others as we work out any other kinks.”

“Okay, but have you worked out your kinks with Junmyeon yet?”

Sehun looked at Luhan so quickly his neck cracked. Fuck, did _everyone_ in this house know about his hopeless crush? “What?”

“Oh, right. I’m not supposed to know about that.”

In a desperate attempt to distract Luhan from his prying, Sehun reached for something he’d been saving for an occasion such as this. Luhan flinched as he whipped out the baton, a hint of fear in his eyes as Sehun pressed the button on the handle and purple electricity crackled along the length of it.

“Geez, I was kidding about Junmyeon. Don’t murder me.”

“It’s _for_ you, idiot.” Sehun twirled the baton, purple afterglow trailing behind.

“Where’d you get this baton? Looks like one the street cops use.”

“Remember when Tao got Minseok through the riot that started down by the courthouse six months ago after elections? He procured this in the midst of that mess and handed it off to me; asked me to do something special to it.” Sehun pressed the button again, discharging the rod, and held out the handle to Luhan. “With Jongin out of commission and Tao our only enforcer, I thought it might be smart to give you something that you could use if someone gets too close for you to shoot.”

“Sehun, this is _really_ cool,” Luhan said, awe in his voice. “This is some next-level sci-fi bullshit.”

Sehun waved him off. “It’s something I’ve been working on in my free time.”

“Thank you, seriously.” Luhan gave it a few test spins, electrifying it and moving it around his body gracefully.

“It’ll drop a grown man like a taser would, so be careful not to tase yourself with it.”

Luhan grinned like a kid at Christmas. “This is the best day ever.” He spun around. “I’m going to go show it to Tao!”

It didn’t occur to him until after Luhan was gone that ‘show’ very well could have meant ‘test it out on Tao’, but the ping of Minseok’s email alert distracted him. His eyes widened as he read through the novel Minseok had sent him. It was a good thing Luhan had left, because he _definitely_ shouldn’t catch a glimpse of this email. It contained Minseok’s plans moving forward.

What he was going to do with the photos of Junmyeon, why he needed them, what he hoped to accomplish with them and everything else they’d done so far, how they were going to handle the Lee family. Everything was connected, it all had a purpose. Not that Sehun had expected anything else from someone as careful and calculating as Minseok, but his end goal was still a shock.

If it worked, nobody would be able to touch them. If it didn’t, well.

Sehun had always felt that he’d live a short life.

The next time Sehun saw Junmyeon it was a full four days after the closet incident—an impressive amount of time considering they’d both been in the house the whole time. Keeping with the usual trend of only coming to Sehun when tech was needed, Junmyeon didn’t appear until he was quietly slipping into the cave as Sehun finished up a call with Minseok.

“Junmyeon,” Sehun greeted, hanging up as Minseok dismissed him. “You’re a bit early still. You don’t need to leave for a few more hours.”

“I’ve been bored the last few days and wanted to talk to someone.”

“And you picked me?” Sehun raised his eyebrows, placing a hand to his chest. “I’m touched.”

Junmyeon rolled his eyes. “Oh, stop. I’m sorry for secluding myself for the last few days but I was in desperate need of alone time and you’re my—” he stopped speaking abruptly.

“I’m your...” Sehun prompted, searching his eyes. He could feel it, something building between them that was rife with possibility, something Junmyeon wasn’t telling him.

“Never mind,” Junmyeon finally landed on. “Besides, Yixing is too busy to talk to me and I need human interaction.”

Wordlessly Sehun pushed the other chair toward him. He tried to guess at what Junmyeon was thinking—always an impossible task—as he sat down, giving Sehun a tight-lipped smile.

“Do you know about my mission tonight?” Junmyeon said after a comfortable quiet had settled over them.

“Yeah.” Sehun looked away from his computer screens, giving Junmyeon a wan smile. “Minseok always informs me beforehand, you know that.”

“It’s just odd that he’s asking me to accompany _him_ to something. Usually he remains as far away from me as he can just in case an old mark recognizes me.”

Sehun fidgeted slightly. Now that he knew Minseok’s end goal, it was going to be harder to keep certain things quiet. “I’ve learned very quickly that it’s best not to question Minseok’s plans. I’ll make sure you have a safe way out if you get into trouble.”

“I know. Oh!” He took off his watch and the ring Sehun had programmed for him. “I recorded a few of the conversations with the ADA and the mayor through the watch and ring. I thought you’d probably need to copy them and remove them so there’s still room on the memory.”

“So you _do_ listen when I talk, that’s good to know,” Sehun teased, taking the watch and ring. He placed the ring on a separate pad, a few keystrokes later hooking it up to a Bluetooth download. Then he carefully took apart Junmyeon’s watch, removing the chip and inserting it into a reader. The audio files on there were much larger than those on the ring and would take a little more time.

“It’ll take a few minutes to copy everything over. Hungry? I think Kyungsoo brought over several containers of food.”

“You sit,” Junmyeon insisted, putting a hand on Sehun’s shoulder to keep him in place. “I’ll get us some food.”

He was too overwhelmed from the burning handprint of Junmyeon’s hand to process what he’d said for a moment or two. Shaking himself, he focused on transferring over the data and wiping the memory clean on both devices. Junmyeon was back just as the last of it transferred with their food, handing a bowl of rice and Kyungsoo’s curry to him before sitting once more.

It was quiet while they ate, but it was an easy quiet, not tense or stifling. As they finished, Sehun braved conversation. “Do you know what Minseok’s planning?”

Junmyeon shook his head. “No, but I know it has something to do with the mayor. Minseok has been going after everyone who supports him, and I know it’s only a matter of time before he makes a move.”

“Between the moves he had us take against the Lee family and the maneuvering he’s done elsewhere, I think you’re on to something.” He knew, of course, more or less what Minseok was planning on doing. But he’d wanted to know what Junmyeon knew, and now he did. “You seem to know how he thinks.”

“I’ve been working with him the longest,” Junmyeon replied, taking their dirty bowls and setting them aside. He swiveled in his seat until he faced Sehun. “You’ve only been part of the team for two years, but I’ve been working with Minseok since he was just a scrappy urchin in a lower gang. Considering it’s only been seven years since then, his rise to power has been astronomical.”

His computer pinged with an alert that the files were done transferring.

As he put Junmyeon’s watch back together, Sehun tried to think of a response that would keep him talking without being so blunt that he clammed up. He’d never heard much about Minseok’s origin, mostly because nobody had known him back then. “When did you know he was worth following?”

“When he saved me from life as a whore,” Junmyeon stated bluntly. “With a face like mine, even when we were younger, there was only one way for me to end up, and neither of us wanted that. Minseok was my shadow, biting at anyone that got too close. Eventually, once he’d gotten enough power, I was safer than I’d ever been.”

Sehun settled his chin in his hand, thinking that over before asking something else. Junmyeon watched him, eyes full of a guarded trust. “How did you fall into your current role? You’ve never told me.”

Junmyeon bit his lip. “I haven’t told most people, really.” His eyes were considering Sehun. Finally, he said, “At first it was an accident. Minseok would never ask me to do what I do. Not after the horrors we both lived through as teens. But one night I was merely trying to keep the girlfriend of a gang leader distracted while Minseok plied him for information, and somehow ended up realizing that if I got her pillow talking I could get him all the information he needed.”

“Oh.”

“It was a happy coincidence, that first time. But then we started doing it more and more, until it was a routine between the two of us. He’s never formally asked me, and I’ve never assumed he would force me to play honeypot. But I’m good at it, and I feel useful.”

“I worry that in your efforts to feel useful, you’re ending up being used instead,” Sehun said softly, braving a hand on Junmyeon’s wrist.

He didn’t pull away. Instead, he offered Sehun a wan smile. “Used by whom? Minseok? You? My marks?” He sighed. “We’re all used to some extent. At least this is in a way that I choose.”

There wasn’t much Sehun could say to that, other than to reply with a soft hum. “I don’t want to use you,” he finally said, once the silence had eased into something comfortable. “I don’t want you to be used at all.”

“How noble of you,” Junmyeon replied, teasing, rather than sarcasm, in his voice. “I appreciate that, Sehun, but I don’t need you to save me.” He stood, gathering his ring and watch.

“What do you need, then?” Bravery seemed to be the theme tonight, since Sehun was usually too chicken shit to ask something so bold. He felt like his emotions were bleeding from his eyes, hopelessly transparent.

Junmyeon turned to face him, maintaining eye contact as Sehun stood as well, walking towards him. “That would depend, on what you wanted from me.”

All or nothing it was, then. “I’ve only ever wanted one thing from you, Junmyeon,” Sehun murmured, matching each of Junmyeon’s steps back with a step forward of his own.

“And what might that be?” Junmyeon was quickly running out of room to back up, eyes burning into Sehun’s.

“You’ll figure it out, I think.” Sehun backed off, too terrified of rejection to vocalize how much he craved the return of his feelings.

Junmyeon huffed in exasperation. “That’s incredibly unhelpful and I have an assignment to prep for. I can’t give you what you want if you won’t tell me what it is.”

He crowded Junmyeon up against the door. “Be safe, Jun.”

Junmyeon looked up at him, eyes dark and arresting. “I always am. You know that.”

Sehun leaned in until his lips were at Junmyeon’s ear, nearly brushing the skin, whispering, “Try not to think about me, when you’re fucking them.” Pressed together like they were, it was easy to feel Junmyeon shudder. “Keep moaning my name when you’re coming for other people, and you could get hurt.”

“You’re getting awfully cocky, don’t you think?” He attempted to aim for blasé, but Sehun could hear the tremor in his voice. “Who says I even like you?”

Sehun pressed a thigh between Junmyeon’s legs, smirking when he gasped and gripped at Sehun’s hips. “Don’t you?”

“No,” Junmyeon growled, nipping at the skin of his neck.

“Liar,” Sehun whispered.

Junmyeon turned his head and kissed him, desperate and wanting, lips burning in their intensity. Sehun’s heart beat frantically with the realization that Junmyeon hadn’t corrected him, that this kiss was as much a verification of the truth as his inability to refute Sehun’s claim that he was a liar.

He could feel Junmyeon’s fingers digging into his shoulders, pulling him closer as he kissed him with an abandon he hadn’t expected. He looped an arm around Junmyeon’s waist, pulling him flush against his body and cupping the back of Junmyeon’s neck with his other hand, trying to convey how treasured Junmyeon was to him. Junmyeon nipped at his bottom lip, teeth tugging lightly before pulling away, coming back in to lick away the sting, and Sehun thought that Junmyeon might be the most confusing man he’d ever met.  
  
“Please, Jun,” Sehun whispered against his neck. “Be safe.”  
  
“I will try,” Junmyeon replied, wrapping his arms around Sehun’s neck and allowing himself to be held. “You’ll be in my ear?”  
  
Sehun pulled away, kissing him slow and soft. “Always,” he promised. “You’re going to have a hard time getting rid of me.”  
  
One of Sehun’s computers beeped.  
  
“I should get going,” Junmyeon said softly. Was that a note of regret Sehun heard in his voice? “That’s probably Minseok wondering where his arm candy for the night is.”  
  
Sehun stole another kiss. “Okay. Good luck tonight.”  
  
Junmyeon gave him a small smile, lips quirking playfully. “I’m always lucky.” He smacked Sehun’s butt before slipping out the door.  
  
Sehun took a deep, steadying breath before turning and checking his computer.

_“Minseok and Junmyeon are in the building,”_ Tao reported, getting Sehun’s attention. He rolled from his gadget table where he’d been tweaking a few things to his monitors. Junmyeon was wearing his glasses to give Sehun a visual.

He straightened in his seat as he watched Minseok pull out a chair for Junmyeon before sitting himself, Junmyeon looking directly at him as they spoke while they waited for their dinner companions.

 _“Wanna tell me what this meeting is about, now?”_ Junmyeon was asking, Minseok’s face giving nothing away. Sehun, even knowing the plan, was impressed by how little he could discern from Minseok.

_“No.”_

Sehun’s eyebrows rose at that response, and his view through Junmyeon’s glasses shifted to the table linens. He bit down on his lip to avoid telling Junmyeon himself. Minseok would eviscerate him if he revealed something he didn’t want known.

“Relax, Jun,” Sehun soothed, trying to help without incurring Minseok’s ire.

That was, of course, when everything went to shit, in his professional opinion. His view of the camera swung wildly as Junmyeon’s head whipped up and over at the sound of the mayor’s voice greeting Minseok.

 _“So glad we could sit down again!”_ the mayor was saying, shaking Minseok’s hand as he stood. _“It was good to chat with you at the charity event last week.”_

 _“Thank you for making time to sit down with me. I know how busy you must be.”_ Sehun couldn’t see Minseok’s expression—Junmyeon’s gaze was focused on the mayor—but Minseok’s tone conveyed he was wearing his most unassuming smile.

 _“Wait…”_ Tao’s voice came through the comms. _“Is that the guy Minseok had Jun sleep with…last week?”_

Sehun sank down in his seat. “Yep.”

The camera was now focused on Minseok, and Sehun imagined that Junmyeon was attempting to convey his confusion and outrage at being in front of the mayor. He zoomed out the feed, getting both Minseok and the mayor in the frame, and was just in time to see the mayor look at Junmyeon.

His eyes widened imperceptibly.

 _“Oh, my apologies,”_ Minseok was saying. _“This is my date Junmyeon.”_

Sehun bit down on a knuckle, trying not to cringe out of his seat. This was worse than he’d expected it to be. Not to mention that he could almost taste Junmyeon’s fury coming through the comms.

 _“Oh,”_ the mayor replied. _“I didn’t realize you two were acquainted.”_

 _“We’re not, really,”_ Junmyeon said icily. Sehun had no idea how Minseok remained so calm. If Junmyeon ever used that tone with him he was certain it would have him flinching at the very least, if not running as far away as possible.

 _“Shall we sit?”_ Minseok gestured at the table, and they both took their seats. Sehun’s view of everything shifted back to Junmyeon’s lap as he looked down, the only view of his hands clenched in his lap.

That was the view Sehun had through most of the first course. He was very well acquainted with what Junmyeon was eating for the appetizer course—or rather, what he was pushing around his plate—but not of any body language or facial expressions that went along with the banal conversation Minseok was keeping up with the mayor.

The few times the mayor tried to draw Junmyeon into their conversation he only received terse or short replies, and Sehun tensed further at the fear that Junmyeon was going to ruin this entire dinner because of Minseok’s insistence that nobody know of his plans.

Junmyeon was going to implode and Sehun wasn’t sure he was going to like the fallout.

 _“I assume that you want something,”_ the mayor said, once the main course was served. _“It’s not often that someone demands my time when my schedule is this busy for a friendly chat.”_

 _“You’re right,”_ Minseok said. _“I do want something.”_

 _“Well?”_ he asked, when Minseok paused.

_“Your job.”_

Sehun’s view of Junmyeon’s soup vanished as his head whipped up to look at Minseok. The mayor had no visible reaction that Sehun could see, although he wasn’t nearly as good at reading people as Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

_“Elections are next year, you’re more than welcome to make a run. I think you’d do well.”_

Minseok’s smile was tight. _“You misunderstand. I want your job_ now.”

Judging by the way the camera moved, Junmyeon was looking between Minseok and the mayor. Minseok leaned back in his seat, projecting calm and confidence, eyes fixed on the mayor as he chewed slowly and dabbed at his mouth with linen more expensive that Sehun’s entire wardrobe.

_“So that’s why you brought the whore with you.”_

Sehun flinched. Minseok blinked. He wasn’t sure Junmyeon was breathing anymore.

 _“I’m sure by now you realize what I have on you. What I’m willing to spread to the press and how it’ll be spun.”_ Minseok took a casual sip of the wine, still cool as could be.

 _“Let’s see it then,”_ The mayor said, holding out a hand. Sehun watched with baited breath as Minseok handed over a phone, the mayor flipping quickly through whatever was on the screen. He sniffed once, nodded, and looked up at Minseok. _“And I suppose you’re expecting me to agree to remove myself from office, leaving the path clear for you?”_

_“That would be the most painless, yes. I am willing to play rough, but I thought I’d do you the courtesy of an offer first.”_

Sehun had a list he kept in an encrypted file on a hard drive of everyone Minseok had in his pocket. It was extensive. He had no doubt that if the mayor chose a fight, it would get dirty quickly.

_“Tell me, Mr. Kim: do you know who the main contributor to my election campaign was?”_

Minseok frowned, his mouth opening. _“The party—”_

 _“Officially speaking, you would be right.”_ Sehun was beginning to get a bad feeling, and judging by the way Junmyeon was frozen in place, he didn’t feel great either. _“What most people don’t know—in part because I’ve gone through great lengths to get where I am and am not careless—is that I’m backed by the Lee family.”_

Fuck.

The mayor gave Minseok a small smile. His first since the conversation began. _“Judging by the look on your whore’s face you know exactly how fucked you are right now, even if you’re remaining remarkably composed.”_

 _“The Lee family aren’t a concern for me,”_ Minseok replied, steady and even still. The Lee family sure as fuck were a concern for Sehun, however. They’d almost killed Luhan last year in a job gone wrong, and were the reason Jongin was out of commission.

 _“It’s your funeral.”_ The mayor dropped the phone back in Minseok’s lap, taking a sip of wine. _“I think I’ll enjoy watching you try.”_ He stood smoothly, nodded once, and walked away.

 _“What the fuck just happened?”_ Tao asked, his voice hollow over the comms.

Sehun didn’t know what to say.

Minseok’s arrival to the house was heralded by doors slamming open and the sound of something glass shattering across tiles. Sehun doubted that anyone in the manor had missed such a spectacular entrance, but since his cave was on the bottom level closest to the foyer, he was there to see the direct aftermath.

A vase he remembered Jongdae had lifted from a heist sometime before Minseok had brought him into the team lay in pieces on the floor. If he recalled correctly, it was worth millions of Won. Minseok was angrily pacing the foyer, expression thunderous, while Junmyeon hovered just inside the doorway, also looking furious.

Sehun froze, unwilling to step into the line of fire. To his left, Baekhyun appeared at the top of the stairs, both hesitating when they saw Minseok. “Sehun, what happened?” Baekhyun asked, looking over the railing at him.

“Nothing good, that’s for damn sure,” Tao answered, shouldering his way inside past Junmyeon, who still hadn’t moved.

“Jun?” Sehun asked, keeping his voice soft. Junmyeon flinched and looked at him, his eyes wide with an emotion Sehun had never seen displayed there, before shuttering closed. His entire face went blank, eyes unfocused as Minseok continued to pace angrily in front of them.

Jongdae materialized from the shadows at the bottom of the stairs, heading directly for Minseok like a man with a death wish. “Min, what happened?”

“I’m going to kill him,” Minseok growled, spinning to face Jongdae. “I want the mayor out of the way.”

Baekhyun blanched. “We can’t just _kill_ the mayor, Min.”

“Well, Luhan _could,”_ Tao mused, standing safely outside the blast zone.

Luhan, appearing seemingly from thin air next to Sehun, said, “I could, definitely.”

Sehun jumped in surprise. “We’re not prepared to pull off a political hit right now.”

“We aren’t _seriously_ considering assassination?” Baekhyun’s voice sounded several octaves higher than it did normally by the end of his question. “It seems like a bad plan.”

“We can’t.”

Sehun, along with everyone else, looked at Junmyeon. It was the first he’d spoken since he’d walked in the door.

“He knows too much. Too many people in his employ know about Minseok. If he dies suspicion will fall on Minseok and then nothing will work like we want it to.” Junmyeon looked at each of them, expression closed and blank as marble, before he continued. “He knew I was connected to Minseok before he fucked me.”

Minseok’s shoulders stiffened and he slowly turned away from Jongdae to face Junmyeon. “And you didn’t tell me?”

“I sent you all the audio files Junmyeon gave me,” Sehun added, trying to diffuse Minseok’s anger. It was immediately clear that he’d said the wrong thing.

“Junmyeon you should have told me!” Minseok shouted. Junmyeon stared at the floor, frozen. “That’s information you should have given me _immediately.”_ He whirled on Sehun. “And _you.”_

Sehun’s stomach decided to engage in an intimate relationship with the floor as Minseok focused intense, burning fury at him.

“How did you miss his connection with the Lee family? Surely with all the information filtering through you, there was a hint somewhere?”

Sehun gaped at him, speechless. Minseok _knew_ Sehun passed everything on to him in carefully organized dossiers each week. Whatever he knew, Minseok knew.

“It’s not Sehun’s fault,” Baekhyun defended, still leaning over the railing. “Jobs go off the rails sometimes. We’ve had really good luck in the last year. It was bound to run out.”

“Come down here and say that to my face,” Minseok said lowly.

“No,” Baekhyun quipped, winking at Minseok’s scowl. “I like my skin attached to my body, thanks.”

“I think the best thing to do right now is go to bed, sleep on it, and brainstorm our next moves tomorrow, with everyone,” Jongdae offered, slowly reaching out for Minseok.

“Fine,” Minseok snapped, after a long, tense moment. “When I see everyone tomorrow morning you better have come up with solutions. I expect better work from all of you.”

“Yes boss.” Luhan saluted, walking the line between serious and sarcastic that only he could balance. He moved past Sehun and grabbed Tao, disappearing downstairs to spar and get out excess energy, probably. Tao was looking twitchy.

Jongdae whisked Minseok up the stairs, Baekhyun meeting them and receiving a gentle slap across the back of his head from Minseok for his earlier snark. He saw Jongin and Chanyeol peeking over the threshold of the basement stairs, sinking back down as Sehun spotted them, leaving him and Junmyeon the only ones left in the foyer.

Junmyeon, who was staring blankly at the floor.

“Jun?”

He startled as Sehun called his name, eyes vacant as he blinked in Sehun’s direction. “Hm?”

Sehun approached slowly, giving Junmyeon time to come back to himself. “Would you like to go upstairs? To your room?”

Junmyeon looked up at him, eyes eerily blank. “Sure. Okay.”

Sehun ushered Junmyeon up the stairs, trying to sort through his own emotions quickly and admitting defeat when they all clamored for attention. He would think later, once he knew Junmyeon was okay.

“Jun? What’s wrong?”

Junmyeon had paused in the middle of his bedroom, expression detached.

“I didn’t think he would use me like that,” Junmyeon whispered, his arms wrapping around himself, fingers bunching the silk of his shirt.

Sehun approached slowly, coming around to face him, not sure how to console. “Who?”

Junmyeon’s eyes rose to meet his, and Sehun was finally close enough to see what was hiding behind the careful mask of detachment.

“Minseok.” He was furious. Not the kind of fury that burned hot like Minseok’s, but a cold, simmering fury that burned long and fierce. “I can’t believe he let me walk into that meeting not knowing who it was. There was no reason why he couldn’t tell me, other than because he doesn’t trust me enough to give me the courtesy of knowing the man I fucked for information was going to have dinner with us.”

“I don’t think Minseok trusts anyone right now.”

Junmyeon turned that burning gaze on him again. “Did you know? Did he tell you?”

Shit. “I knew he was going to make a play tonight; I didn’t know to whom.” It was the truth. He’d inferred the rest but that was technically all Minseok had told him.

Junmyeon nodded once, then turned and walked to his dresser, stripping off his too tight, made-to-tantalize clothes and exchanging them for joggers and a long-sleeved shirt that looked like one of Sehun’s that had mysteriously gone missing in the wash a few weeks back.

“I didn’t think I would be a casualty in his pursuit of power. Not after everything we’ve been through.” He sat on his bed, curing in on himself.

Sehun sat as well, careful distance between them, and tried his best to be what Junmyeon needed him to be. “How can I help?”

“Be on my side.”

“Always.”

If Junmyeon was surprised by how quickly Sehun agreed, it didn’t show. “I don’t know what he’s going to ask me to do next, but I don’t want to play honeypot for him if he’s going to use me like this. My role has never made me feel good, per se, but tonight was a different level of humiliation.” He paused, chewing on his lip. “Like I was a disposable pawn in their maneuverings.”

“Then don’t be,” Sehun said. “Take control of where you go on the board. Even a pawn can topple a king if he places himself right.”

Junmyeon studied him for a moment that stretched into years, eyes searching for something, before surging forward and kissing Sehun.

He reeled, losing his balance slightly as Junmyeon crashed into him, struggling to shift him in his arms as the kiss deepened and removed coherent thought from his list of skills. He gripped at Junmyeon’s waist as fingers sunk into his hair, Junmyeon working himself closer into Sehun’s lap. He didn’t know why Junmyeon had kissed him, exactly, and he didn’t much care.

Junmyeon’s mouth was assertive as he pushed Sehun back onto the bed, crawling over him and raking his fingers down through Sehun’s hair, over his chest to where his heart was rattling his ribs. His hands found a home on Junmyeon’s waist, too busy trying to keep up with the insistent press of his lips to do anything fancy.

He was happy to let Junmyeon take whatever he needed.

“What do you need?” He managed to ask when Junmyeon shifted his focus to Sehun’s neck. He wanted to know how best to help Junmyeon, and for him to think about what he was doing, maybe.

Help him see that Sehun would give him anything if he asked, because that’s what it meant to have an all-consuming love for another person. It might not be the healthiest outlook, but it was what Sehun felt.

“I want you,” Junmyeon whispered, words damp against his throat, fingers slipping under his shirt to meet skin.

“You have me. I’m yours.” Forever, tonight, as long as he wanted. “Take me.”

Even with explicit permission, Junmyeon still moved slowly, his hands wandering lazily, removing their clothes almost as an afterthought between kisses that made Sehun’s blood simmer with want. Everything was heady, consuming in ways he hadn’t expected.

Junmyeon was careful with him, lips working down his chest and stomach until Junmyeon was sucking on the jut of Sehun’s hipbone, making him arch with the sensation. By the time Junmyeon was working careful, slick fingers into him, Sehun had lost all sense of time and self, existing only in the moment and sensations Junmyeon was evoking from him.

He helped Junmyeon wrap his long legs around his waist, locking tight as Junmyeon slowly sank into him, eyelashes fluttering and breaths shuttering as they were joined, reverent in the action of it. It was a level of closeness he never expected to feel with Junmyeon. Could his feelings not be as hopelessly unrequited as he thought?

“Jun...” He dug his fingers into Junmyeon’s arms, one sliding up into his hair, anchoring himself as his word shifted around him. Junmyeon’s hands were gripping his hip and thigh, muscles shaking as he settled in deeply, kissing up Sehun’s chest while he adjusted.

Junmyeon leaned closer, his eyes searching Sehun’s for a long, suspended moment. What he was searching for, he didn’t say, just hovered above him and placed a gentle kiss to Sehun’s lips as he started moving.

He moved his hips slowly, bodies chest-to-chest, intimate and close, whispering words of lust into Sehun’s ear, words he forgot as soon as he heard them, except for the way they stoked the flames burning him from within higher and higher. Junmyeon was thorough as a lover, no matter what position they took, but it was overwhelming how much he focused on Sehun. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much intensity directed at him during sex.

He couldn’t think about how much letting Junmyeon have him like this would cost if things went poorly afterward.

Coming was almost an afterthought, for him. Consumed as he was by Junmyeon’s hips pushing into him slowly but insistently, the constant string of praise spilling into his ears, Junmyeon’s hands on his body…it was all too easy to shudder apart slowly, unraveling beneath Junmyeon’s fixed gaze. He watched as Junmyeon came apart soon after, enraptured by the bliss he’d caused to overtake Junmyeon’s expression, lashes fluttering against his cheeks.

Sehun was scared, he realized, as he feathered fingers through Junmyeon’s hair and listened to his breathing gradually slow as he lay pressed against Sehun’s chest. He was scared that Junmyeon was going to slip away again, two steps back for every one they took forward, wondering if he’d crossed the line between giving Junmyeon what he wanted and revealing the depth of his feelings.

“Don’t go,” he whispered into the darkness, Junmyeon’s heartbeat an echo of his own.

“I won’t.”

Junmyeon was gone when he woke up in the morning. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to feel the disappointment for a few moments, then slowly got up to check the time. Ten minutes before Minseok had told them via a text he was just seeing that he wanted to meet. The timestamp on the text read a few hours ago, early enough still to be called night instead of morning. Still, he knew that if he didn’t rush through a five-minute shower, he would be the only one showing up late.

By the time he was slipping into his seat at the dining room table, everyone else was already gathered and he had seconds to spare. Junmyeon’s hair was also wet, and he gave Sehun a timid smile that bolstered his heart a little.

“Good morning,” Minseok began, folding his hands on the table, appearing much calmer than he had last night. “As you’re all aware, the plan has gone off the rails. We need a way to accomplish our goals without outright assassination if possible.” He looked at each of them. “Any ideas?”

“I might have a solution,” Jongin spoke up, making everyone turn to him. He rarely spoke in team meetings.

“Go ahead,” Minseok prompted, when Jongin remained silent under their gazes. “We’re listening”

“Our primary problem is that he’s backed by the Lee family, right?” He continued when nobody interrupted him and Minseok nodded. “I know someone in the Lee family.”

Everyone went so still it looked like a photo until Minseok twitched, just slightly, and asked, “You what?”

Jongin took a deep breath. “I’m friendly with the hitman for the Lees.”

 _“Friendly?”_ Baekhyun screeched. “With Lee _Taemin?”_

“Define ‘friendly’,” Jongdae insisted, more calmly than Baekhyun.

“Explain,” was all Minseok spat.

“He tried to kill me a few years back on a job in Busan. I got away,” Jongin explained. “We run into each other every few months and he tries to kill me, we fight, I get away.” He glanced around nervously. “I assume that since I’m still alive, we’re friends.”

“Is Taemin even capable of having friends?” Tao mused.

“Taemin is twenty pounds of crazy in a five-pound bag,” Luhan remarked.

“That’s saying something, coming from you,” Kris jibed. Luhan hissed at him.

“This is all well and good, but useless unless you think he can be used to help us get information.” Minseok had steepled his hands in front of his face, staring Jongin down. “How deep does your friendship run? Could you get in contact if needed?”

“I, uh.” Jongin flushed. “I can contact him, yeah.”

Sehun made a note to upgrade the security on Jongin’s phone if he was going to be in contact with members of the Lee family.

“If Jongin has an in, we can work our way inside, maybe plant a bug or lift some files so Sehunnie can work his magic,” Chanyeol reasoned, stretching out his legs under the table and playfully kicking Kyungsoo in the shin just to get a glare in return.

“Sehun, do you know if any of our covers are intact enough to have someone infiltrate, even fleetingly?” Minseok directed at him, from the far end of the table.

He thought quickly. “I’ll have to go over the footage from all our ops with the mayor to know for sure, but right now, I think Jongdae and Luhan are the only ones who haven’t been seen by him—at least that are capable of doing what you’re asking. Unless Kris, Kyungsoo or Yixing are willing to try, but they’re not trained for that kind of work.” He tapped a finger on the table. “That’s also assuming, of course, that we can even secure a way in.”

Everyone turned to look at Jongin again. “I’ll try and contact Taemin tonight. I’ll trip one of his many traps in the city and wait for him to come kill me. It’s our preferred method of communicating.”

“Kinky,” Luhan muttered, earning a smack from Tao.

“What else?” Minseok demanded, looking around. “We need more than one option.”

“I can dig through their financials,” Kyungsoo offered. “Especially if we manage to get a hold of their records, I can try and find something to use against the mayor. If the Lee family has backed him with money that isn’t spotless, we might be able to spin a corruption angle on him and let the people do the ousting for us.”

“Doesn’t old man Lee keep a personal chef in the house?” Kris asked, tapping fingers against his chin. “If we can get rid of him, I can insert myself into the household.”

“No,” Kyungsoo said immediately. “Not an option.”

“Information only, baby,” Kris assured. “Nothing dangerous.”

“Maybe,” Minseok answered, before Kyungsoo could argue more. “We’ll keep that as a backup option. I don’t like the idea of sending you in somewhere dangerous without backup.” He sighed and looked around at each of them. “I’ll be honest, this wasn’t in my plans. I was foolish and didn’t expect for things to go so badly, and I’m sorry for taking out some of my frustrations on you.”

Sehun watched as Baekhyun and Jongdae exchanged a look, Baekhyun mouthing ‘frustration’ at Jongdae and winking. He didn’t want to know.

“Thank you all for performing so adequately. Dismissed.”

Sehun turned to Jongin, getting his attention. “If you’re going to be talking with Taemin, I need to install more security on your phone. Come to me before you go anywhere.”

“And let me take a look at your wound,” Yixing added, standing up and coming to hover over Jongin. “You really shouldn’t be up and about yet.”

“I feel fine,” Jongin protested as the room emptied. “It doesn’t hurt much, and the wound is pretty much closed.”

Yixing sighed heavily through his nose. “You’re lucky you’re in such great shape. It’s probably one of the reasons you’ve healed so quickly. But that arm is going to be weaker for a while until your muscles heal and strengthen, and you won’t be fully healed for another month. I want it in a sling if you leave the house.”

“Don’t worry, Xing,” Jongin assured. “Taemin will only try to kill me a little. I’ll be fine.”

“Alright, let’s go to my den before _Yixing_ kills you,” he said, grabbing Jongin by his uninjured arm and dragging him away from a frowning Yixing.

“I don’t want to stitch you up again,” was Yixing’s parting warning, arms folded across his chest.

“I have to ask: Jongin do you know what you’re doing?” Sehun kept a tight grip on his arm as he led him across the foyer to his den. “The Lee family are not ones to mess around with lightly.”

“The same could be said about our group. And no, I’m not sure I know what I’m doing. But I think Taemin is fond of me, so it’s worth a shot.”

Sehun sat in his ergonomically correct chair and scowled at Jongin. “I don’t like you intentionally putting yourself in danger like this, for the record. Phone.”

“I’m not thrilled about it either, but you know when _Minseok_ is asking for help, it must be serious.” He handed Sehun his phone. “Besides, my shoulder doesn’t hurt that much anymore.”

“Bullshit. You got shot three weeks ago. You should be out of commission for at _least_ another three weeks, if not five.” Sehun glared at him when he made a sound of protest. “Yes, I listen when Yixing talks, unlike most people in this house.” He turned his attention to his screens, connecting Jongin’s phone to an uplink device and checking the existing security, ignoring Jongin’s soft grumbles.

“What are you doing?” Jongin asked, after about two minutes of silence.

“Installing some new firewalls, and a nifty program I worked up that automatically launches a trace on any device that tries to hack the safeguards I have in place. A sleeping counter-attack that’s undetectable until it’s activated.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a genius?”

“Mmmm no, but I figured that out when I hacked into the NIS at sixteen.” He grinned at Jongin over his shoulder. “And I got away with it, too.”

“Geez, Sehun.” Jongin ran a hand through his hair, still matted on one side from sleep. “Does Minseok know how skilled you are?”

He shrugged. “I’m sure he has an idea. He’s never asked, and I’ve never told. Besides, I’ve never been one to brag really, which is probably why I’m not in prison right now.” He went back to installing his programs on Jongin’s phone, drumming his fingers on the desk until the system pinged at him, then picking up Jongin’s phone and handing it back to him.

“It might be glitchy for an hour or two as everything settles. If it’s too bad, do a quick reset and it should integrate for you. Otherwise, you’re set to contact your murder boyfriend.”

“He’s not my—”

Sehun gave him a flat look. “Please. Anyone you leave alive after getting in a fight with them, you’re clearly soft for. And since Taemin doesn’t _leave_ people alive once they’ve seen him, I’d bet the same goes for him.”

Jongin scrunched up his nose. “Watch. This time he’ll kill me, and we’ll all be sad about it.”

“Unlikely. Now, get out of here and get some rest. You want to look your best for your date with a hitman later.”

“Yes, fuck you.”

Sehun giggled as Jongin left, turning back to his screens and beginning the arduous process of looking through all the covers he’d created for their team, so he could figure out which of them were known to the Lee family and by what name. He slipped his headphones over his ears, turning on a relaxing playlist for background music as he sifted through his files.

Luhan, as he’d suspected, was completely clear of all contact with the Lee family. If he’d come face-to-face with any of them over the course of his employ with Minseok, they were no longer alive to expose him. Much like Taemin, most people didn’t encounter Luhan and live to tell about it. The mission from a few weeks ago had been a close call, but Jongin had been careful to leave no one alive who had glimpsed Luhan. Jongdae, too, was free and clear as far as Sehun could tell.

But as he’d thought, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Junmyeon, Tao and Jongin were all blown. Either because they’d been seen with Minseok too often, or they’d been in the same room as the mayor at various events. If Minseok wanted someone to infiltrate the Lee family and plant a device so Sehun could hack their systems, it would probably have to be Luhan or Jongdae. They were the safest bet, since Kyungsoo, Kris and Yixing weren’t an option.

With that settled, he turned to his files on Lee Taemin, looking for anything that could help with Jongin’s meeting with him. It was depressingly spare on details. Beyond knowing he was a member of the Lee family, the youngest son of his own family, and one of the deadliest men in the country…Sehun didn’t have anything.

Whether or not they employed his help, he would need more information.

He set up a few dialogue prompts to run searches on Taemin in the background and then started prepping for what Jongin would need for later that night.

A knock on his door had him spinning around in his chair, letting out a low whistle when he saw what Jongin was wearing. “Well hey there, lover boy. You look good for your date.”

Jongin flipped him off but did a quick spin anyway. He was wearing a lavender turtleneck, sleeves trailing down over his knuckles and holes cut for his thumbs, fitted to his torso and tucked into a pair of snug pinstripe slacks so brown they were almost black. “How do I look?”

“I don’t think I’ve seen you look this good in…maybe ever,” Sehun admitted, leaning back in his chair. “You look fuckable. Maybe we should let you have Junmyeon’s position.” It was mostly a joke, but he would be more at ease if Jongin decided to play honeypot for a while.

“Well, that’s something I guess.”

“Hopefully this won’t ruin the look too much,” Sehun said, standing and holding out the black sling Yixing had dropped off for him earlier. “Doctor’s orders.”

“Sehun,” Jongin whined. “Please. I’m supposed to take my bike. I can’t drive it with one arm pinned to my chest.”

“I’m not going to tell Yixing you took your bike to a meeting with a hitman, but you will put this on once you get there. If only so he’ll be gentle with you.”

“I don’t think you understand Taemin.” But he took the sling, looking at it like it was a bomb, or one of Chanyeol’s socks post workout. “You’ll be in my ear?”

“As always.”

“Any other nifty gadgets before I go?”

Sehun waved his hands at him. “No, now go. You don’t want to be late.”

By the time Sehun had his usual programs up and running and the comm between him and Jongin active, he was already zipping through the streets of Seoul, a red dot blinking along the grid of Sehun’s maps.

“You’re meeting him at a hotel?” Sehun asked, as Jongin’s tracker stopped moving. “That’s…”

_“One, it’s not like that you heathen. We have a conference room we meet in that’s always empty this time of night. Two, this hotel has security cameras, so you’re welcome.”_

That made it harder and easier for him to do his job. Yes, he’d have visual, but he’d also have to scrub the footage when they were done. “Hacking in now,” he informed Jongin. He was just quick enough to catch a saucy wink Jongin sent one of the hall cameras (he was wearing the sling, Yixing would be happy to know) before he ducked into a small room that was likely used for small lunch meetings.

Sehun switched his feed just in time to see a figure in all black—Taemin, he hoped—materialize from the shadows and slam Jongin into the nearest wall, forearm pressed to his throat. He had a clear view of them from the side, making it easy to keep an eye on what was happening and confirming it was indeed Taemin, looking wraithlike and svelte.

 _“C’est quoi le mot de passe?”_ Taemin hissed quietly, almost too soft for the earpiece to pick up despite how close he was to Jongin.

“Is that—does Taemin speak _French?”_ That wasn’t in the file he had on Taemin.

Jongin whimpered in pain—a quick zoom of the feed showed Taemin’s elbow pressed to Jongin’s wound—then took a breath. _“Prends une petite bouchée de mon coeur,”_ Jongin answered.

 _“You_ speak French?”

For a moment he thought the feed had frozen, so still were they, and then the soft lilt of Taemin’s voice came through again, _“Salut, mon coeur.”_

_“Je me languis de toi, mon amour.”_

In a flash Taemin had moved again, dropping his arm from Jongin’s neck in favor of gripping at his shirt and kissing him. _“I missed you too.”_

Sehun decided at that moment to develop a code that would translate languages on the fly because he’d definitely missed something just then. He cleared his throat subtly when it looked like they might progress beyond kissing, and Jongin broke away, much to his relief.

_“Careful, Tae. You almost ripped my stitches with that grab.”_

_“Who hurt you? I’ll kill them.”_

_“Why? Upset you didn’t get to do it yourself?”_

_“Damn right. You’re_ mine _to hurt.”_

_“You might want to have a conversation with your men, then, since it was one of yours that shot me.”_

There was a grunt as Taemin shifted to press his leg between Jongin’s. _“Which one. He’s dead.”_

_“I killed him.”_

Taemin rocked up and captured Jongin into another kiss, so messy and indecent that Sehun felt compelled to check the trackers of the rest of his team, just to make sure everyone was where they were supposed to be. He didn’t chance a glance back until he heard Jongin speaking again.

 _“Wait, Tae, I need to talk to you.”_ Jongin—looking very mussed, hair a chaotic mess on his head from Taemin’s fingers, no doubt—had a fist in Taemin’s hair and was pulling him away from his neck, his other hand up the back of Taemin’s shirt. Yixing was going to kill him for taking it out of the sling. Then again, maybe that had been Taemin.

_“So it isn’t a social call? You only spring my trap in this part of town when you need me to help you unwind.”_

Sehun was learning _far_ too much about Jongin. And considering what he was hearing, his relationship with Taemin was more complex than he’d let on.

_“I need access to the Lee family.”_

Sehun nearly spewed coffee all over his setup. “Jongin what the hell are you doing?” he hissed, wiping a stray droplet from his lip and leaning closer to the screen. “This is supposed to be a meeting to put out feelers, not blow the whole operation!”

 _“What, you want me to bring you home and introduce you to dear old dad as my boyfriend?”_ Taemin leaned back, using his hold on Jongin’s waist as leverage. _“I don’t think that will go over well, especially since you’re a known associate of Minseok.”_

Sehun had to stand and pace across his office for a minute while he absorbed that Taemin was _directly_ related to the Lee family, and not just a cousin as they’d assumed. He scrambled back into his chair, quickly pulling up all his files on the actual family, looking for any indication that they’d missed something.

 _“I’m your boyfriend? News to me.”_ What Sehun could see of Jongin’s face showed his most insufferable smirk easing across his features. _“But no, I would rather not get anywhere near your dad. I’ve heard the stories.”_

_“You’re lucky you didn’t grow up the youngest son in his family, then.”_

_“All I need is thirty minutes in your family manor.”_

“An hour, Jongin, if you’re suggesting that _you_ plant my bug, you’ll need more than half an hour.”

 _“An hour,”_ Jongin revised, before Taemin could speak.

 _“Got someone in your ear, babe? You wound me.”_ Taemin didn’t appear wounded in the slightest, but he did look directly into the camera Sehun was spying from and flipped it off. He supposed he deserved that. _“Why should I do this for you?”_

 _“Because you hate your dad almost as much as I do? Because it would bring you immense satisfaction to pull one over on him? Because it’s me asking?”_ Jongin kissed the tip of Taemin’s nose. _“I can keep going.”_

 _“Can you promise me it won’t get me killed? You do realize you’re putting me in a sticky spot, if I do this for you. Not to mention that as valuable as I am to him, my father_ will _kill me if he feels like I’ve betrayed him.”_

_“I won’t let that happen to you. I’ll help you fake your death and flee the country before I’d let him hurt you. Paris is nice this time of year.”_

_“Dramatic. I approve. However, there is the problem of half my father’s men knowing your face. If they see you at all we’re fucked.”_

“We can have Jongdae or Luhan do it,” Sehun supplied for Jongin. “They’re the only ones unknown for sure by the Lee family. Don’t mention their names to him.”

 _“There are others who could do it in my place,”_ Jongin parroted. _“All we’d need is a clear path and an open door.”_

Sehun saw Taemin lean close to Jongin’s ear, whispering, _“Hello Quartermaster. Can you guarantee this won’t come back on me? How good are your people? Do you think I’d let you use me like one of your puppets?”_

_“Quartermaster?”_

“It’s a reference to James Bond.” Sehun sighed. Was he really about to do this? He drummed his fingers against his desk before resolving that yes, he was. Minseok needed to pay him more. “Jongin, give your earpiece to him.”

_“Pardon?”_

Taemin held out his palm and smirked at the camera, the smug bastard. He quickly jammed the earpiece in as Jongin relinquished it. _“So should I call you Q then?”_

He just barely managed to restrain his snort. “You’re no Bond, but it will do.”

_“Do you have answers to my questions?”_

“If I do my job right, nobody will even know I was in your systems at all. And I always do my job right. My people are the best, and so am I. I don’t think you’d let _anyone_ use you in any capacity, never mind as a puppet. But I think if someone you trusted asked nicely you might do it.” Sehun leaned back in his chair, wondering what Taemin would do with his answers now that he’d given them.

 _“Wait, our systems? Are you looking to hack for information?”_ Taemin turned to face the camera head on as he spoke, leaning into Jongin slightly but ignoring him otherwise. _“Not everything we have is kept digitally. There’s a lot of info we keep on paper.”_

“I can list several reasons as to why that’s a bad idea, but yes I’m looking for specific information on your family servers. I doubt any of it would be written down.”

 _“I wish we were having this conversation face to face,”_ Taemin mused. _“Easier to read you.”_ He placed a hand on Jongin’s chest, running it up and down in strokes that seemed absent-minded. Sehun wondered again how Jongin could describe what they had as “friendly”. _“If you’re looking for a backdoor into our servers,”_ Taemin finally said after a long moment of musing, _“then wouldn’t the easiest solution be for me to give you that access? That way none of your precious assets are in danger, and my own risk in the venture is minimized as well.”_

 _“He does have a point,”_ Jongin chimed in.

“My issue with that, Lee Taemin, is that I don’t trust you. Yes, the risk to my own is minimized, but at least with one of them I know it will get done. I’m not sure you won’t run to your dad and tell him everything as soon as we’re done here.”

Taemin’s lips pursed. _“A fair point. My rebuttal, is that if I did sell you out to my father, I’d be putting Jongin in danger. And considering you’ve already seen enough to ruin my safety in my own family, I’m not keen on doing that.”_

Sehun blinked, dumbfounded. He hadn’t even thought that Taemin’s collusion with Jongin could be used as leverage in their favor, but it made sense. The last thing his control-freak of a father would want was his executioner soft on the hitter of a rival family. “If you’re certain you want to do it, I can pass the Trojan to you through Jongin. All you’d need to do is plug it into a computer connected to the servers for five minutes, then take it out.”

Taemin turned back to Jongin. _“Looks like I’ll be seeing you sooner rather than later, babe.”_

Jongin held out his hand and waited until Taemin had handed back his earpiece before smiling. _“So, I gather you’ll send what he needs through me then?”_ Jongin asked as he slid the piece back into place.

“Yeah. I don’t like it, but trusting him is safest for our team, if you’re sure he can be trusted.”

_“I trust him with my life, even if his family is shit and make him do fucked up things.”_

_“I’m touched, Nini.”_

“Okay. Then get back here and I’ll brief you on exactly what I need you, and him, to do.”

 _“I’ll be back...in a bit,”_ Jongin hedged. _“I think Tae and I have some unfinished business first.”_

“Ugh, I don’t want to know. I’ll see you when I see you. Be safe driving home, and don’t do anything to your arm or Yixing will have both our heads. Sehun signing out.”

He disconnected the comm and his connection with the camera before he saw or heard something he would regret. Only once that was done did the implications of everything that conversation had yielded start to hit him.

Oh, Minseok was going to love this.

“Are you _out of your mind?”_ Minseok hissed. “Have you _actually_ gone _insane?_ You dumb motherfuckers and your inability to be circumspect!” He was a small man, and yet he still managed to have both Sehun and Jongin pinned to a wall with nothing but a glare so vicious Sehun’s teeth stung. “Do you know what it means to be _circumspect?”_

“I don’t think—” Jongin attempted.

“You’re _damn right_ you don’t think. You two _shitstains_ have fucked up so _egregiously_ I don’t even know where to start. Let me put it like this: the only thing standing between me and my goals is a corrupt mayor, old man Lee, and two members of my team that came up with the _brilliant_ idea to involve the one person who could bring down this entire operation. Can you see now, how involving the youngest _fucking_ member of the Lee family was not circumspect of you?”

Sehun and Jongin nodded quickly.

“The only reason, and I do mean _the only reason,_ why neither of you have a bullet hole between the eyes with very surprised expressions on your faces is because you’ve ensured that it’s too late to adopt another plan by telling Taemin what you need him to do, and the only person he’ll work with is Jongin. So, you’re going to ensure that we don’t get double crossed, and know that if Taemin can’t be trusted and everything goes up in flames, I’ll string you up by your balls and hang you from the top of Namsan tower myself with great enjoyment. Am I understood?”

“Yes sir,” he and Jongin mumbled in tandem.

Baekhyun appeared out of nowhere and latched onto Minseok, who didn’t seem to notice Baekhyun was even in the room. “Both of you get out of my sight,” he hissed as Baekhyun tugged him backward slowly. “I don’t want to hear from either of you until Monday.”

Sehun watched Baekhyun drag Minseok up the stairs to where Jongdae was waiting at the top, both muttering softly to Minseok and pulling him around the corner to disappear down the hallway. Next to him, Jongin heaved a huge sigh of relief.

“You couldn’t have warned me I was walking into a trap?” Jongin sighed, turning to Sehun. “I haven’t seen him that mad in a while.”

“He didn’t tell me. It wasn’t until he texted me to come to the foyer and I saw you walking in the door that I realized he was going to talk to us at the same time.”

Jongin rubbed at his face. “How does he know everything as it happens?”

He had a sneaking suspicion that Minseok was tapping into his surveillance feeds without him knowing—he’d have to run a diagnostic and see—but that was something Jongin wasn’t going to understand. “He’s more paranoid than we think, probably.”

“Yeah, probably.” Jongin made for the basement. “I’m going to go sleep. I’m wiped.”

Sehun watched him go before turning back to his den and powering down everything that wasn’t essential. He was ready to sleep for a week, and he trudged slowly up the stairs to his room before falling face first onto his bed.

His body was crying for sleep, but his mind was turning over everything that had happened in the last week. That alone felt like a month, the last few weeks feeling like a year. So much had changed, he felt like a different person, like he’d aged a year in the span of several weeks.

There was this thing snakes did that always fascinated him. In order to grow, they had to shed a skin that was too small to contain them anymore. He felt at times like he was growing too big for the skin he was in, and the itch in his fingertips that came with the feeling heralded the thought that he’d changed into something new since Minseok had embarked on this endeavor. Not different but grown to encompass more than he used to be, and he needed to shed the old to make way for the new.

Sehun never knew what he’d lost in the shedding until he looked back on the points of his life in which he’d grown the most, but more often than not it was things he didn’t need anymore. Sometimes it was old friends, with whom he shared fond memories, but that time and distance had done, inevitably, what they do best. Sometimes it was old mistakes that had served their purpose in making him stronger, and sometimes it was a million little things that added up into a lesser version of who he used to be.

But in the end, he was always lighter, stronger, and more prepared to take on the world and the challenges hidden right around the corner. Because each new skin was stronger than the last, tougher against the tribulations and trials his enemies would hurl his way, armor that grew stronger with each battle he fought.

He was evolving, and he hoped that Junmyeon wasn’t going to be something he’d shed when he came out the other side.

“Sehun? Are you awake?”

He rubbed at his eyes, squinting against the slice of light spilling into his room through his cracked door. “Yes?”

The room got momentarily brighter before falling dark, the door clicking shut behind someone. The bed by his hip dipped as someone sat next to him. “You don’t look awake.”

He blinked blearily until the shadowy figure of Junmyeon came more into focus. “Oh, it’s you.” He shifted on his back and made more room for Junmyeon. “Are you okay?”

Junmyeon’s hand found his in the dark. “Can I sleep in here? Do you mind?”

Sehun threw back the blankets and made room, letting Junmyeon slide in next to him. “Bad dreams?” It was rare for Junmyeon to seek him out when it wasn’t directly after a mission. There was always a reason behind it when he did.

Junmyeon settled the blankets around them both, their shoulders touching as they lay side by side. “Bad memories keeping me up.”

Ah, Sehun knew what that was like. “Want to talk about it?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.” Junmyeon shifted closer and rested his head on Sehun’s shoulder, cuddling right up to him. “Are you okay? I heard about your conversation with Minseok.”

“Oh, you mean the conversation where he yelled and I tried to become one with the wall?” Sehun worked his arm under Junmyeon’s neck and around his shoulders. If Junmyeon wanted to be close, it was fine with him. “I’m fine. It’s never fun to be on the receiving end of his anger, but I’ll survive.”

“It’s odd for him to get so upset, especially at you.”

“What Jongin and I did was pretty stupid, so I get it, but sometimes I forget exactly how scary he can be.”

Junmyeon tentatively laced his fingers with the hand Sehun had on his stomach. “Minseok knows how to look unthreatening until he needs to be,” Junmyeon agreed. Silence stretched between them, slow and quiet, until Sehun felt himself starting to drift. It was too easy to feel content with Junmyeon cuddled up close to him.

“Sehun?” Junmyeon whispered, so softly he knew it wouldn’t have woken him if he was asleep. “Are you awake?”

“Mmm?” Sehun hummed, turning and nosing at the fluffy strands of Junmyeon’s hair.

“I’m sorry.” Junmyeon’s fingers twitched between his.

“Nothing to be sorry for.” He could sense Junmyeon working up to something. Sometimes it was easier to say things in the darkness, when it didn’t feel like the world was awake to witness whatever you had to say.

“I know I’m a confusing person, and that I haven’t made it easy to get close to me. I’m trying.” Junmyeon paused, letting his words fall softly around them like dust motes. “I want to let you in.”

He willed his heartrate to stay even, his breathing slow and deep. “I’d like that,” he admitted, squeezing Junmyeon’s fingers. “Very much.”

Junmyeon pressed a kiss to his shoulder. “Okay. I’ll keep working on it, then.”

Sehun smiled into the dark and let contentment ease his way into sleep.

He woke up with Junmyeon still in his arms.

In the night they’d shifted to their sides, Sehun wrapping all of his lanky limbs around Junmyeon’s curled form under the sheets, touching everywhere. It was an altogether novel experience for Sehun, who was far too used to Junmyeon pulling a disappearing act as soon as daylight intruded. He nosed at the nape of Junmyeon’s neck, breathing in the scent of him, sweet as peaches with a nutty, warm undertone.

He drifted.

Junmyeon was sprawled across his chest the second time he woke. They’d kicked off most of the blankets, the combined heat of their bodies finally proving too much, and Junmyeon was like a furnace against him.

How someone so small could generate so much heat Sehun was sure he’d never find out. Junmyeon heaved a huge sigh, rolling off Sehun and starfishing his limbs, taking up more than his half of the bed, before blinking his eyes open slowly. Sehun watched the awareness creep into Junmyeon’s expression, steeling himself against the inevitable walls that would come up any moment, waiting for Junmyeon to finally slip through his grasp yet again.

Junmyeon rolled back into him, flinging an arm around his waist, nose pressed to his arm through Sehun’s shirt. “Morning,” he mumbled, still sounding mostly asleep.

“Morning,” Sehun answered, trying to keep the marvel from his voice. “Sleep well?”

Junmyeon hummed, happy and soft, “You’re better than a dozen different sleeping medications. I haven’t slept so well in ages.”

Sehun snorted. “Glowing praise.” He couldn’t help the kiss he pressed to Junmyeon’s forehead, content to lie in bed all day. Getting up could not be delayed any further, however. If he knew Minseok, he’d want to move forward with the plan he and Jongin had concocted as quickly as possible. Which meant he needed to get up and prepare, not kiss Junmyeon between the sheets.

“Are you busy today?” Junmyeon ventured, his voice carefully devoid of emotion.

“I am,” Sehun answered. He repeated his thoughts for Junmyeon’s sake, then added, “I’ll mostly be working at my computers, and wouldn’t mind the company.”

Junmyeon lifted up on an elbow, looking down at Sehun. “I have a few things to do today, but I’m sure I’ll have time to stop by for a bit.”

Sehun brushed gentle fingers across the curve of Junmyeon’s cheek, always so, so careful. Even with the quiet half-confessions last night, Sehun was still conscious of too much at once. Winning Junmyeon had thus far been a game of patience. “I’d like that.”

Junmyeon surprised him by kissing him soft and slow. “Deal.”

“Oh, sorry. I can come back?”

Sehun turned in his chair, finding Jongin in the doorway to his den. “No, you’re fine. I’ve got a few things for you to hand off to Taemin this afternoon. Think you can handle that?”

Jongin looked between him and Junmyeon, who was casually draped across the other chair in the room. “Yeah, I think so. I can head out now.”

“Great.” He waved Jongin in, turning back to the kit he’d put together for Taemin. “He’ll need an earpiece, of course, and then I’ve given him my trojan horse USB, which will do all the work for him. I also gave him a radio transmitter he can press _just in case_ he runs into trouble. It will broadcast a signal to me that he’s in trouble without triggering any alarms or tech they might have.” Sehun handed over each piece as he explained them. “I figured he might need an out, just in case.”

“I’m not sure how he’ll feel about that, but I appreciate it,” Jongin mused, looking over the pieces. “I assume you’ll brief him once he connects to the comms?”

Sehun nodded. “You’re the only one he’ll meet with by your own words, and after talking with Minseok this morning, we want to go through with this as quickly as possible.”

“I’ll leave now, then.”

“I’ll be watching.”

With one last questioning glance in Junmyeon’s direction, Jongin left the room. A few minutes later, Sehun saw the tracker on his bike moving through the city. Without saying a word, Junmyeon slid from his own chair into Sehun’s lap, curling there and resting his head on Sehun’s shoulder. He adjusted slightly, moving so he could type around Junmyeon’s body more easily, both of them silently watching Jongin’s progress through the city through the different CCTV feeds Sehun pulled up.

“Do you have anyone else on standby?” Junmyeon asked softly, melting further against Sehun’s chest.

A soft glow of contentment wrapped around his heart. “I’ve got Luhan hovering on the edge of the Lee family territory, in case Taemin needs extraction, and Yixing is on standby, but otherwise I’ve kept this as contained as possible.”

“Think Minseok cares if I’m here for this?”

“I don’t really care what Minseok thinks, right now.” Their conversation this morning had been frosty, Minseok still pissed about being pushed in the direction they were going. “I’m more worried about keeping Taemin alive through all this.”

Whatever Junmyeon was about to say was lost as Jongin’s comm went live. _“I’ve sprung one of his traps,”_ he reported in. _“Should only be a matter of time.”_

Sehun jumped between feeds until he got one of Jongin. “Copy. I see you.”

Jongin gave a jaunty salute to the nearest camera before settling against the wall, arm tucked back in his sling now that he wasn’t driving. Yixing would actually sedate him for a week if he re-injured himself.

“And now we wait?” Junmyeon asked.

“Now we wait.”

Junmyeon uncurled from Sehun’s lap, standing with a quiet groan. Sehun missed his warmth immediately. “I’m going to get us some dinner. I think I heard Kyungsoo come in. I’ll be back in a bit, but shout if Taemin shows up.”

Sehun tried to resist the urge to cling to Junmyeon, knowing he’d only find it stifling.

It took two hours for Taemin to show up.

Junmyeon had fallen asleep in his lap, the both of them full from Kyungsoo’s cooking, Sehun’s legs falling asleep the longer Junmyeon dozed, but far to content to do anything about it.

“‘Bout time.” Jongin’s voice was a thunderclap in the quiet of the room, Junmyeon startling awake.

Blood rushed to Sehun’s feet as he shifted.

 _“I was finishing up a job for daddy dearest when I got the alert. I came as soon as I could without making it immediately apparent where I was going.”_ Taemin’s voice came through Jongin’s comm, sounding exhausted more than anything.

Sehun rolled his eyes at the next ten minutes, which were mostly muttered words and kissing. “Are they always like this?” Junmyeon hummed.

“I’ve only seen them interact twice, but all signs point to yes.” He brought his end of the comm to life. “Jongin, if you wouldn’t mind giving your boyfriend his kit?”

A few more kisses, some quiet, barely audible French, and they were pulling apart. He watched as Jongin handed over the items he’d prepared, and then brought Taemin’s comm to life as he slipped the earpiece in.

“Hello Taemin, hope you’re having a lovely day,” Sehun greeted, not sincere in the least. Junmyeon snorted softly. “If you’re quite finished with Jongin, I’d like to brief you on what we need you to do tonight.”

_“So this is what it feels like to be James Bond.”_

“...I doubt that very much.”

_“I’m only ever going to call you Q. That is what you are.”_

Sehun heaved an aggrieved sigh. “Whatever. All I really care about is that you listen to what I say and get away clean.”

 _“Listening,”_ Taemin said, even if it was with a smirk at the nearest camera he could find.

Sehun hated him, just a little.

“It’s simple. Jongin is going to hand you a flash drive. All you need to do is get in your house, plug it into your father’s computer, and then take it out when I direct you. Once that’s complete, all you’ll need to do is get it back to Jongin.” Jongin handed over the rest of the equipment as he spoke.

 _“And this?”_ He bounced the radio button in one hand.

“Radio transmitter. It’s more or less a panic button that won’t be detected or interfere with any tech your father might be using. If you’re blown, I’ve got one of ours standing by to get you out.”

 _“That everything?”_ He slid the flash drive and transmitter into his pocket.

“Keep your earpiece in. It will allow me to help monitor and direct you, and the rest of our team as well.”

 _“I’ll be with you, baby,”_ Jongin whispered, kissing Taemin fondly on the cheek.

Taemin flicked him playfully on the nose before leaving the way he’d come. _“I’ll let you know before I enter the house. I’ll keep you as updated as I can while inside.”_

“Sounds good. I’ll be able to hear if someone is talking within a few feet of your person.” Sehun muted his end, slumping back into his chair and wrapping his arms around Junmyeon.

Junmyeon shifted slightly, adjusting Sehun’s hold to something more comfortable. “Think he’ll be okay?”

“I hope so.”

It took ten tense minutes after Taemin softly announced that he was going into the house for the next hushed update.

_“I’m in my father’s office.”_

Junmyeon—having moved off Sehun’s lap and into his own chair in an effort not to distract him should the situation turn dire—reached over and gripped his forearm. He flexed his fingers over his keyboard, ready for the moment Taemin plugged the trojan in.

_“It’s in.”_

No sooner had he spoken then Sehun’s screens pinged with an alert. “Got it,” he replied, fingers typing long strings of code he’d memorized as he directed the remote program to seek and copy the files they would need.

 _“Someone’s coming,”_ Taemin whispered. _“I’m going to hide behind the bookshelves. I’m leaving the drive where it is.”_

Sehun quickly used the backdoor access to keep the display of Lee’s computer blank, his program running in stealth. “We should be good, as long as he doesn’t notice the flash drive. Is it a tower? Or does your father use a laptop?”

_“Tower.”_

“You should be okay. Keep still, I’ve got half of what I need.”

_“Mayor Kim, I assure you Kim Minseok is not a problem. And should he make the decision to continue with this misguided attempt to remove you from office, I’ll make sure he disappears quietly.”_

Sehun momentarily froze, processing what must be Taemin’s father speaking. Junmyeon’s grip on his arm tightened, bringing him back to himself. He kept keying in code, coaxing as much speed from his program as he could.

 _“No, sir. I’ve got my men working on the problems with the Moon family. Their son is about to have an accident—terrible timing, really, what with that upcoming vote.”_ A dark chuckle. _“No, he’ll live. But Councilman Moon won’t be in the right frame of mind for a while. And we’ll have something over him. Nasty things, drug habits.”_

“Fuck,” Junmyeon whispered.

Sehun had no idea who Taemin’s father was talking about, but that kind of meticulous maneuvering was the exact reason why they were doing this. “Eighty percent, Taemin.”

No response, but he hadn’t really expected one.

 _“Do I know who? I didn’t know Minseok had that kind of material against you. No...no I can look into it though. And you slept with him?”_ A lengthy pause. _“Ah, so he set a honeytrap for you. Oldest trick in the boo—no, I’m not insulting you. It happens to the best of us. I can look into the files we have on his known associates, I’m sure the whore will pop up.”_

Junmyeon’s breathing had gone unsteady next to him.

Three more lines of code, and his program swept the last of the files they needed. He did another quick check, making sure he didn’t miss anything important. “Done, Taemin. Get out as soon as you’re clear.”

 _“Don’t worry, Mayor Kim. If it comes to it, I can always send Taemin out to get rid of the whore. Hard to be blackmailed when the person you slept with is nowhere to be found.”_ Another pause. _“You as well. Goodbye.”_

Sehun unwrapped the claw of Junmyeon’s hand from his arm, placing it in his hand instead. Junmyeon’s fingers gripped his so tightly his fingers turned white. “It’s okay, you’re safe,” he whispered, kissing the back of Junmyeon’s hand.

It took another thirty tense minutes before Taemin’s voice came through. _“I’m out. Sorry, took my father forever to leave after he hung up. I’ve got the drive.”_

 _“Fuck, finally,”_ Jongin blurted. _“I’ve been going crazy.”_

 _“On my way to you babe,”_ Taemin replied. _“Meet me at our spot.”_

_“Be there in fifteen.”_

Sehun sent messages to Luhan and Yixing to stand down, somewhat awkwardly with only one hand. When everything was squared away, Jongin and Taemin’s continued soft chatter fading to the background, he turned his full attention to Junmyeon.

“I’m sorry. If I’d known we were going to overhear that conversation I would have had you leave,” Sehun said, coaxing Junmyeon meet his eyes with a knuckle under his chin. “You know they’ll never touch you. You’ve got us all here to protect you.”

Junmyeon nodded, but it was a shaky thing. “I know. But it’s still something else entirely to hear someone casually discuss having you killed.”

 _“If it helps, I’d just fake your death,”_ Taemin chimed in.

Sehun rolled his eyes, although it was a nice sentiment.

_“Bullshit, you’re shit at faking deaths. I had to help you with the last two.”_

_“Jongin, you’re ruining my reputation.”_

_“Oh, hush.”_

“I will mute you,” Sehun threatened. Jongin’s tracker had come to a stop somewhere in Hongdae. “Taemin, are you almost to Jongin?”

 _“I see him,”_ Jongin replied. Then, a few seconds later, _“Transfer complete. Coming back home.”_

“No nonsense,” Sehun reminded. “I need that as soon as possible. You can kiss Taemin later.”

 _“Got it, boss,”_ Jongin said.

_“Nice talking to you, Quartermaster.”_

“You did it,” Junmyeon remarked.

And that was when it hit.

He’d pulled it off.

They’d gotten everything they needed to cut the mayor off at the knees.

He sent a message to Minseok.

Minseok held a briefing that night. It was eleven by the time he’d summoned them all. Yixing stumbled in last, blood on his scrubs and a giant coffee in his hands, looking like he hadn’t slept in two days.

“Min, if we could hurry this up,” Yixing began, all but pouring himself into his usual seat, “I’ve just finished a thirty-six-hour shift and I’d like to sleep.”

“From here on out, the plan is simple,” Minseok began.

“That’s what you said about the _last_ plan,” Baekhyun drawled, “and look where we are now, two months later.”

Minseok threw a pen at him. “As I was saying, there’s only a few components we need to make this work.” He launched into his plan, detailing it all out, talking over anyone who tried to ask a question.

“You mean we’re going to work _with_ the police?” Chanyeol asked, after a moment of stunned silence. Minseok’s plan was…blunt. But effective if they pulled it off.

Minseok rolled his eyes. “Well _someone_ has to arrest Mayor Kim, and it’s not going to be us.” He shuffled a few papers back into an unmarked file. “The finer details of your roles will be given you by Sehun, once I’ve sent him a brief. Until then, get some sleep. The next week is going to be busy.”

He strode from the room in clear dismissal, leaving everyone else to gather their wits and leave one by one. Two minutes after Minseok left the room, Sehun’s phone chimed with an email.

“Minseok has never been one to waste time,” Junmyeon murmured, leaning over Sehun’s shoulder to look at the email with him. It was blank, save for one attachment named ‘Plan D’. He hadn’t realized they’d burned through so many of Minseok’s contingencies.

“Yes, well. This will keep until morning.” He stood, pulling Junmyeon up with him. “Bed?”

Junmyeon smiled softly. “Yeah, let’s go.”

Sehun turned back. “Should we wake Yixing?” He was slumped over the table, sound asleep. “He’ll hate waking up with a kink in his neck.”

Instead of answering, Junmyeon walked around to the other side of the table, gently shaking Yixing awake. “Come on, Xing. You can take my bed, but don’t sleep here.”

Yixing mumbled something incoherent under his breath, and Sehun went to help Junmyeon drag Yixing to his feet. It took them both to help him upstairs, down the hall to Junmyeon’s room, and then out of his bloody scrubs and between the sheets. Sehun wasn’t even sure Yixing had truly woken up. Junmyeon tucked him in, then pulled Sehun from the room after turning off the light, quietly shutting the door behind them.

“Is it okay if I bunk with you?”

“Of course.”

Junmyeon looped his fingers around Sehun’s wrist, following him to Sehun’s room. He shut the door behind them, tugging Sehun to a stop and kissing him when he turned around. Sehun marveled, letting Junmyeon’s kiss sweep him away. It was amazing to experience Junmyeon when he was _trying_ at something.

Sehun stumbled over his feet as Junmyeon led him to bed, both too busy with each other’s mouths to bother looking where they were going, stumbling by memory. Junmyeon pressed him into the pillows, his mouth trailing down his neck, hands working under his shirt to trail slow-simmering fire up his ribs.

Removing clothes was an afterthought, happening slowly and haphazardly as wandering hands sought new skin to bring to flickering life with fervent touches. Junmyeon aligned their bodies, hips finding a rhythm that matched the pace of their kisses, the movement drawing soft sounds of pleasure to fill the empty spaces between them. It was slow, lazy, barely more than rutting together until they both came, too preoccupied with kissing to try for anything else.

Eventually Junmyeon managed to move, dragging Sehun up after him as they got cleaned up, brushing their teeth before stretching between the sheets to sleep. Sehun drifted off to the feeling of Junmyeon snuggled close, his heartbeat shivering against Sehun’s ribs.

Plan D took Sehun four hours to organize, logistically speaking. Considering how long he’d spent coordinating some of Minseok’s other plans, it was elegant in its simplicity. It would take all of them to do it, but in a measured, cohesive way that Sehun had to admit was classy as fuck.

Minseok had somehow worked it so that he would come out as the hero in the public’s eyes. And even if things went wrong, he had contingencies—workarounds that Sehun could anticipate and plan for.

“Almost done?”

He swiveled around, smiling as Junmyeon walked over to him. They’d slept in, long past lunch, and then spent an hour rolling around in the sheets until Junmyeon had forced him to get up and see to Minseok’s email.

“Finished. The first parts of the plan will be put into motion tonight, but that’s all done by Minseok.” He gestured to his timeline, displayed on one of his monitors. “It’s deceptively easy, when it’s laid out like this.”

“Have you told everyone where and when they need to be yet?”

Sehun shook his head. “I was about to do that.” He gestured to the eleven trays laid on the table along the wall. “I’ve already got everyone’s kits ready to go.”

“You even labeled them!”

“I did.”

Junmyeon gave him a fond look. “Nerd.”

“Yes, well,” he stood and swept Junmyeon into his arms. “I may be a nerd, but I’m the one keeping this team functioning.”

“True. Which is why you need to send assignments out to everyone. Right now,” Junmyeon insisted, pushing Sehun back to his computer.

“Pushy, pushy.” He did as Junmyeon said, though, and spent the next few minutes sending out the detailed emails he’d drafted earlier, adding last-minute details to a few before finishing. “There.” He turned back to Junmyeon. “Now, why the insistence?”

Junmyeon’s smile was mischievous. “Because I’m stealing you for the night.”

“Really?” Sehun tilted his head. “How do you mean?”

Junmyeon took his hand and laced their fingers together. “We’re going to dinner.”

He fought off a smile. “Like a date?”

“Don’t push your luck.” Junmyeon flicked his chest. “Now, go get ready. You look like a slob.”

Sehun looked pointedly at the baggy sweats Junmyeon was wearing, paired with one of Sehun’s shirts. He looked tiny. “I’m changing too, stop looking at me like that,” Junmyeon laughed, shoving Sehun from the room. “Now go! We have a reservation.”

He hurried to his room, Junmyeon urging him the whole way, and squeezed his arm before shutting him out. He wasn’t one for field work, much more at home behind a computer, and therefore his wardrobe was not nearly as extensive as Junmyeon’s. Frowning at his options, he deliberated for a moment before leaving his room and running downstairs.

“I need your closet,” he announced, storming into Chanyeol’s room and straight for his clothes.

“I could have been having sex,” was Chanyeol’s _immediate_ rejoinder. He was sitting on the beanbag in the corner of his room, guitar in hand, fingers plucking absently.

Sehun gave him a look. “Please, we both know you’re not getting any right now.”

“Aren’t I?” Chanyeol challenged.

He turned back to Chanyeol’s closet, his hands landing on a pair of slim-cut black jeans—everything had to be slim-cut to fit Chanyeol’s skinny-ass legs—that he pulled free and began to step into. “Prove me wrong, Yeollie.”

There was a long silence, during which Sehun found one of Chanyeol’s silk shirts he only wore when he was planning on charming a mark beyond reason. Deep blue, slipping through his fingers like water. Around when he was trading his t-shirt for the button down he’d appropriated, Chanyeol said, “Yixing and I have a thing going on.”

Sehun’s fingers fumbled on a button. “What?” He turned around to find Chanyeol staring at his hands, guitar on the floor by his feet, worrying at his bottom lip with his teeth. “Since when?”

“For the last few months.”

He left three buttons undone at the top in favor of studying Chanyeol closer. “And? How is it going?” He tucked the front tails in, letting the rest hang out.

Chanyeol finally looked at him, a shy smile crossing his features. “Really good. Well, when he has time, that is.”

“If I would have known, I’d have dumped him into your bed instead of Junmyeon’s last night.”

“We try not to be too public here at the house,” Chanyeol replied. Then, “Wait, where did Junmyeon sleep?”

Sehun started edging for the door. “Uh, with me.”

Chanyeol took in his clothes for the first time, squinting at him. “Wait, are you _going out?”_

“I _do_ leave the house you know. On occasion.”

“Yeah, once every six months.” Chanyeol tilted his head, curiosity bleeding from every lanky ounce of him. “The only thing that could get you out of the house looking like _that_ would be…” he trailed off. “No shit.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sehun sniffed, opening the door. “I’ve got to go.” He turned and nearly bowled over Junmyeon, his fist raised to knock.

“Oh good, found you. Ready?”

“I knew it!” Chanyeol screeched, as Sehun slammed the door behind him.

“Ready.”

The restaurant Junmyeon took him to was nice enough to have a wine list, but not so nice that neither of them were underdressed. When he’d finally taken in the tight jeans and baggy sweater Junmyeon had chosen to wear, they’d had to take an unexpected detour into the hallway closet so Sehun could debauch him before they left.

They’d stumbled out, clothes slightly askew and hair a wreck from their hands, and right into a bemused Tao, who’d only given Sehun a knowing look before shooing them out the front door. Junmyeon had steered him into one of the cars since most of the bikes would be needed for various parts of Minseok’s operation later in the night.

It was difficult to keep his hands off Junmyeon. Even more so as they walked out of the restaurant, full of good food and two glasses of wine. “I can’t believe you asked me on a date,” Sehun giggled, tugging Junmyeon into a nearby alley and pressing him against the brick of the building opposite.

“I told you, I’m trying.” Junmyeon tipped up, pressing a kiss to the corner of Sehun’s mouth.

Sehun cupped his jaw, aligning their lips and letting the kiss grow deep and heated, too elated and tipsy to care they were barely hidden from anyone passing by. Junmyeon groaned into his mouth, hands on Sehun’s hips and pulling him as close as they could be, the sweep of his tongue along the roof of Sehun’s mouth demanding more, more, more.

He’d wanted for so long, that even when he was with Junmyeon he _wanted,_ an ache that couldn’t, or wouldn’t subside. So he lost himself in Junmyeon, pinning him in place and taking everything he offered, teeth scraping against his lips and jaw, only finding satisfaction where they touched.

Sehun pulled away, words on the tip of his tongue for only Junmyeon to hear, when stars exploded in his vision, the pain registering a full second after the blow landed.

He blinked, trying to clear the spots, but the angle was all wrong now. Junmyeon was screaming why was he screaming? He tried to speak but there was an arm there, cutting off his words. Junmyeon reached for him, but two men held him back. He tried to move his limbs, but it was like he was underwater, his limbs not obeying as he struggled sluggishly.

He blinked, and they were dragging him away, Junmyeon still struggling against whoever was holding him, trying to get to Sehun. “What do we do with him?” One of the captors asked.

“Leave the whore,” a voice commanded, somewhere behind Sehun. “He’s useless to us.”

He blinked, and Junmyeon was crumpled on the ground, his body so small in the mouth of the alley, getting smaller as he was dragged away.

He blinked, and didn’t open his eyes again.

A bucket of ice water brought him gasping and heaving into consciousness.

“I don’t know anything,” he gasped, as soon as he was awake enough to register the people watching him cough on water.

It wasn’t even a lie. He’d been so busy with Junmyeon that he hadn’t had time to disseminate the information they’d gotten with his usual meticulous methods. He’d sent everything straight to Minseok, letting him do with it what he would, knowing Minseok would know what information was important to their plans and what wasn’t.

“While I very much doubt that,” a cold, calculating voice drawled, “that’s not what we need from you.”

He knew that voice. Sehun willed his sluggish mind into action—had they drugged him?—and tried to place the voice. It was too dark to make out the features of anyone around him, shadows come to torment him, and a quick felt of his muscles confirmed he was thoroughly tied to the chair he was sitting on.

“Rough him up a bit for the photo boys, he needs to look his best.”

Even braced, the first hit felt like a hammer to his face. The next four hits weren’t much better. He licked his lips, tasting blood from the split in his lower lip, trying to catch his breath and bearings. A fist to his ribs scattered any coherency, and for a moment his only focus was on pulling in one breath after the next.

Pain made time blur, then crawl by. He only existed in the moments between blows, otherwise he was nothing but the burning and aching, ribs protesting with every breath. Bruised, definitely; possibly fractured. And the one echoing thought that lasted through the beating was how glad he was they’d left Junmyeon behind.

At least he wasn’t here like this.

Ice cold water washed over him for the second time, pulling him from blissful unconsciousness into throbbing, consuming pain.

Everything hurt.

“He’s awake.”

Risking the wrath of his head, Sehun shook water out of his hair and eyes, attempting to force his vision to clear. He counted four of them in the semi-darkness. How long had he been gone? As soon as Junmyeon woke up, he’d alert the others.

Except.

He nearly groaned aloud. He’d been taken the night Minseok’s plan was set to go into motion. It was too time sensitive to delay and realizing that was what made Sehun steel himself for the long haul. Minseok was not going to halt his plans to mount a rescue—not when they’d worked so long on this plan—nor would Sehun expect him to. He could hold out.

A newspaper with the date on it landed in his lap. According to that, it was the day after he’d been abducted. One of the goons stepped closer to prop the paper in his lap, his knuckles bruised and raw from pummeling Sehun. He considered spitting the blood in his mouth on him, before deciding the inevitable retaliation wouldn’t be worth it. The newspaper told him plenty, though.

He wasn’t there for information, but as ransom. Leverage.

“Say cheese,” one of the goons said, holding a phone up. Sehun gave the camera a flat, unamused look. A flash that blinded him.

Bruiser—the one with bloody knuckles—took the paper back. If it was ransom, Minseok wasn’t going to pay it. Sehun was either going to be beaten within an inch of his life, or shot in the head when they realized keeping him wasn’t going to get Minseok to halt his plans. His usefulness as a bargaining chip had an expiration and calculating where in the plan the rest of the team was…he estimated he had another ten hours to live.

Give or take. Depending on if Chanyeol and Baekhyun could get their shit together long enough to pull off the greatest con of their careers. Twelve if they fumbled the execution.

Which left only one puzzle. Who had taken him?

“So,” he drawled, deciding to make the most of what weapons he still had at his disposal. “Which family is going to kill me, hmm?”

Shadow number four, thus far lurking in the corner, stepped forward. Sehun didn’t recognize him in the low light. “What makes you think we don’t want information from you?”

Sehun rolled his eyes, which made pain shoot through his skull, but it was worth it for the effect. “If you wanted information, you would have asked questions between the hits. Which means you’re holding me to use me as leverage against my team.”

Shadow pulled a knife from somewhere, stepping close enough to drag it teasingly against Sehun’s throat. “Surely they wouldn’t let their master tactician die for their plan. You’re far too useful to Minseok.”

So, they knew who he worked for. As he’d thought, but the confirmation that so far, he’d been right was grounding. “I think your intel is shit.”

The knife pressed closer to his throat. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that, smart boy.” The knife vanished. “Bring him in,” Shadow commanded, Goon #2 opening a door somewhere behind Sehun.

His heart stalled in his chest. Had they gone back for Junmyeon? Had they been torturing him in a different room? Based on what he could make out, they were in what looked like an unfinished basement, or maybe a warehouse. It was possible they could have been working Junmyeon over when he’d been unconscious.

Soft footsteps drew closer. “Father, you needed me?”

Sehun nearly threw up. He knew that voice. And he knew exactly who’d taken him.

“Yes, come here.” Shadow stepped in front of Sehun, close enough to the light hanging over his head to illuminate a face he’d only ever seen in photos, never in person. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t recognized the voice sooner. “Tell me, do you recognize this man?”

It took every ounce of Sehun’s already fragmented control to keep his expression absolutely blank as Lee Taemin stepped into the light next to his father. “Should I?”

His father hummed, one hand coming to rest on Taemin’s shoulder. While an innocuous gesture, it still had the ghost of a threat to it, in Sehun’s eyes. “He’s one of Minseok’s men. Their tactician, by all reports.”

Taemin’s gaze was ice, sweeping over him, completely uninterested. “I wouldn’t know. My job is to clean up loose ends, not gather intel.”

To his knowledge—and maybe the only thing working in his favor right now—Taemin had never seen his face. Only heard his voice. If Sehun could keep silent, it might save Taemin, even if he already had one foot in the grave.

“Well?” Lee turned to Sehun. “Are you a loose end?”

Sehun glared at him, resolved to stony silence.

“What can I do for you, father?” Taemin repeated, eyes going sleepy and bored.

“Oh, nothing for now.” He shifted to clasp his hands behind his back. Sehun thought Taemin relaxed slightly now that his father wasn’t touching him. He could be projecting. “He’s useful to us for now. Minseok will come for his precious computer nerd soon enough. I told the mayor we’d take care of Minseok and the threat his team poses. Once we’ve nullified the rest of his team, I’ll let you have their quartermaster as a new plaything.”

Taemin’s eye twitched. Sehun would have missed it entirely if he hadn’t been watching closely. “I’ll look forward to it.”

Lee tossed the knife in his hand in Taemin’s direction, Taemin plucking it from the air gracefully. “Until then, he’s yours to do with what you will. We’ve already sent proof of life to Minseok; I’d say in one piece is the only requirement we need to meet now.”

The smile that crept over Taemin’s was bone-chilling. “Thank you, father.”

A barked command, and it was Sehun and Taemin alone. He eyed Taemin through his hair, unflinching under that predatory gaze.

“So, what should I call you, _quartermaster.”_

Sehun slowly rotated his wrist in the binding, working his palm face up against the armrest. Taemin watch him curiously. He curled his fingers into a fist before slowly and deliberately flipping Taemin off.

Taemin barked a manic giggle, stepping closer, his hand flashing out and back in so quickly it took Sehun two whole seconds before the pain hit, a line of fire against his ribs. He gasped, looking down at the dark line of blood seeping into Chanyeol’s shirt.

“Here’s how this is going to go,” Taemin began casually, lowering himself into Sehun’s lap. “We’re going to play, and you’re going to scream very loudly while I do very terrible things to you, and it’s going to be _such_ a delightful time.” He patted Sehun over his ribs, right where he’d cut him. “Admittedly, mostly only for me, but let’s be optimistic, yes?”

“Then I think we should be on a first name basis, don’t you? Call me Q.”

Taemin froze, so still he could have been a statue. “Shit,” Taemin whispered. “Fuck.”

“Yeah,” Sehun replied, equally quiet. “A little help here?” He nodded to his bound…everything.

Before Taemin could answer, a soft chime echoed through the room. Taemin held up a finger, then pulled his phone from a pocket, features wrinkling in puzzlement. “Someone just sprung one of my traps.”

Sehun lowered his voice to the barest whisper. “Jongin?”

Taemin shook his head. “He doesn’t know about this one. It’s someone else.” Another chime. “Either someone is looking for me, or it’s open season for hitmen.” His eyebrows arched when the third chime sounded. “What the hell is happening in this city tonight. Everything’s going tits up.”

They both jumped as Taemin’s phone started ringing. He gave Sehun a look that clearly insisted he stay quiet. “Yes?”

That was how he answered his phone?

Sehun was close enough he could hear the voice on the other end. _“Listen carefully, I don’t have much time. By now you’ve noticed the traps I’ve sprung. We’re coming for him. Either help us, or stay out of our way, but we’re not feeling merciful.”_

Luhan? Sehun mouthed his name. Taemin followed the shape of his mouth. “Is this Luhan?”

Brief, calculating silence. _“Is Sehun with you? How did you know my name?”_ There was an exchange of rapid-fire mandarin in the background that could only be Tao.

Sehun forced his brain into motion, attempting to pinpoint where exactly in the plan the team would be even without his guidance. Sometime after Minseok had taken proof of the mayor’s corruption to the proper authorities, but before the news broke in the media, most likely. Tao and Luhan should be protecting Minseok, not scouring the city for him.

“I’ll do what I can,” Taemin promised, looking determined. “Look for my pin.” He hung up on them before they could reply. Two more seconds of rapid navigating on his phone and then his full attention was back on Sehun.

“What is your plan?” His father’s goons could come back at any moment, and Sehun was not confident about getting out on his own.

Wordlessly, Taemin swiped the knife through the bindings around his wrists. “Can you walk?”

Sehun stood slowly. Everything ached, his legs not working at a level he was confident about. He made an unsteady sound. “I’d be able to give you a more informed opinion if I knew what you were planning,” he hinted, ribs and muscles protesting every breath.

“I live by one rule,” Taemin started, tossing his knife in the air absently. “Make a plan; wait for things to go tits up; throw away the plan.”

“How are you still alive.”

“The secret is that I’m always planning on the worst possible outcome.” There were suddenly two more knives in his hands. “Your friends should be here in the next two minutes, based on how close that last trap was to where we are. Want a knife?”

“Honestly I’m more likely to stab myself than someone else.” He gave Taemin his best approximation of an apologetic look.

“By now my father has left to deal with the headache Minseok is giving him, so the only thing between us and the way out should be his men. Stay behind me and watch your back.”

Taemin made to head for the door. Sehun stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Taemin, if you do this, you won’t be able to come back to your family.”

The grin Taemin gave him could make Satan himself take a step back. “You’re assuming there will be anyone left alive to tell on me to daddy.” Taemin opened the door.

“You done with him, you little freak?” One of the goons guarding the door spoke as soon as Taemin stepped through the door. He didn’t see the knife until it was buried to the hilt in the side of his neck, and even then, Sehun wasn’t sure he’d even had time to think anything before his body hit the ground.

Taemin continued out into the hallway, flipping a new knife in the air, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Sehun peeked around the doorframe, quailing slightly when he saw six very large men rushing for Taemin, who laughed directly in their faces, winked at Sehun, and launched into movement.

He was a blur of motion, dancing and spinning around blows that should have landed. His arm snapped back, then forward, a knife finding a home in the eye of one of the men at the end of the hallway.

A spinning kick sent one man thudding into the wall next to Sehun, who helpfully stuck out a foot and tripped him right into another of Taemin’s knives. But Taemin was already gone, ducking under another man’s guard and swiping a knife across his throat, unflinching and sure.

Blood splattered Taemin and the walls.

The remaining three men moved forward more slowly now, their movements more calculating. It didn’t matter. Taemin disarmed them all within seconds, using their guns against them, his knives unerring in their accuracy. A bullet that was meant for his head found a home in the man Taemin ducked behind, not even looking as he threw a knife at the shooter, catching him in the shoulder.

The shooter went down, clutching his shoulder, but Taemin was on top of him in the next second, yanking the knife free only to plunge it directly between his ribs. The last man turned, wisely running away, although Sehun was sure that boded poorly for his escape.

He needn’t have worried.

Taemin sprinted for the last man, taking two steps _up_ the wall when he was within range, launching himself at the man from above. His aim was true, his last knife sinking into the space between neck and shoulder, leaping away as the man stumbled to his knees, then his face.

Dead.

Taemin had just killed six men in less than two minutes. He turned around to face Sehun, face and clothes splattered with blood. Sehun had half a second to register Taemin’s wide eyes, his arm winding up, and then there was a faint hiss of air past his cheekbone as a knife embedded with a wet thud somewhere past him. He looked behind him in time to see a seventh man falling over, dead.

“I told you to watch the rear,” Taemin chastised, walking back along the hallway and picking up his knives, tugging them free from their deadly, temporary homes. 

“Has Jongin seen you in action?” Did he know how absolutely insane his boyfriend was?

Taemin’s smile was a collage of white and red. “Of course, it’s how we met. He thinks it’s hot.” He jerked his head. “Now come on, we have to hurry.”

Stepping gingerly around the bodies littering the floor, Sehun followed Taemin to the end of the hallway, rounding the corner to see a door up ahead. The lights above the door were out, casting it in shadow. Taemin approached first and seemed altogether unsurprised when two shadows by the door moved.

There was a flurry of movement that ended with Taemin pinned against the wall, glowing purple baton hovering an inch above his skin. Sehun’s tired, stressed brain struggled to make sense of it, reeling with fear until he registered the faces of the two shadows.

“Luhan? Tao?”

They both looked at him, eyes sweeping over him and cataloguing every single injury no doubt. Dressed head to toe in black, they looked more predator than human.

“Don’t hurt him, please,” Sehun instructed. “Jongin would be terribly upset, and he did just save my life.”

Luhan lowered the baton, Taemin shrugging out of his hold. Distantly, Sehun had the thought that they should _not_ spend any amount of time together if they didn’t want to wake up the next morning with half of Seoul in flames.

Tao rushed over to him. “Sehun? Are you okay?” Tao’s hands fluttered around him, like he wasn’t sure if it was okay to touch. Like he didn’t want to hurt Sehun further.

“I’m okay, they didn’t hurt me. Not much, anyway.” Sehun fell gratefully into Tao’s arms, starting to shake as the feeling of safety hit him, that his team had found him.

He was safe.

“I was so scared. I’m so glad I found you.” Tao’s hands were cupping his jaw, eyes searching his own frantically.

He rested his forehead against Tao’s.

“Let’s go home.” Tao pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Everyone has been desperate.”

“Will you be okay?” he asked Taemin. “You can come with us.”

Taemin shrugged. “I’ll blame everything on your friends here. I’m sure they’re more than capable of the havoc back there.” He faced Luhan. “Speaking of, better make it look good. My father won’t believe I’m so easily overpowered.”

Sehun flinched as Luhan brought the uncharged end of the baton down over Taemin’s head without any warning, followed by a swift kick to the chest that send him sprawling back onto the floor where he stayed, unmoving. Tao pulled him through the door and he blinked as cold, fall air hit him in the face.

There were more bodies on the ground outside.

“How many people have you killed tonight?” he wheezed, letting Tao and Luhan support him as they dragged him from what must be the Lee home.

“Minseok gave us carte blanche. I lost track after ten,” Luhan replied, gaze constantly roving. He dropped the arm he had around Sehun’s waist in favor of changing the baton for his gun and screwing his silencer on the end of it.

“The plan?”

Luhan stalked ahead, sighting around corners before they rounded them, Tao supporting most of Sehun’s weight. “On schedule. It was lucky you sent out our roles and involvement before you got taken, otherwise we would have been fucked sideways with a stick.”

“But you should be—”

“Guarding Minseok? We know. He pulled Jongin off the bench to fill our spots. Luhan is going to go out once we get you secured and cover Baekhyun and Chanyeol like he was supposed to, but for now they have Jongdae as backup.” Tao squeezed him gently. “We have it covered.”

“I thought he was going to give me up for the plan,” Sehun admitted. The cut from Taemin’s knife was a searing burn on top of already aching ribs.

“He was. Minseok insisted you would be fine until the plan had run its course, that you would expect us to not deviate.”

“Then…?”

“Junmyeon made everyone leave the room,” Luhan whispered, urging them down a deserted street. It was early evening, the sun setting behind the buildings. “When Minseok brought us back in five minutes later the plan had changed, and we were going after you.”

“He must have said something, because Minseok didn’t even try and argue him after that.”

Sehun breathed a sigh of relief. “Junmyeon is safe?”

“Yixing was there when they brought him in, but besides a few bruises and a nasty bump on the head, he’s fine. Spitting mad, but fine.” Luhan steered them to an alley, two bikes parked in the shadows at the end. “Tao, you take Sehun back to the manor. I’m going to rendezvous with Baekhyun and Chanyeol.”

“Be safe,” Tao said in farewell. With no small amount of difficulty, Sehun climbed on behind Tao. “Hang on,” Tao instructed. “We’ll be back to the house in fifteen minutes, and then you can pass out.”

Sehun clung to him the whole way home. Tao was his anchor, the thing keeping him grounded in himself. The further they got from the danger, the more aware Sehun became of how much he hurt. Of how much his body was aching and how sore his muscles were. He craved his bed.

Craved Junmyeon.

Most of the ride back to the manor Sehun spent focused on staying on the bike, his muscles protesting every corner, every shift. Tao pulled smoothly into the drive, killing the engine as soon as they came to a stop. He turned, pulling Sehun’s helmet off and dropping it on the ground.

Sehun winced. That helmet was worth at _least_ five million won, what with all the upgrades he’d done on it. Tao rolled his eyes. “Can you get into the house on your own?”

He nodded, optimistic that he could make it twenty steps unaided. “I’ll be fine.” He gingerly slid a leg over the bike, feeling blood rush to his feet as they lengthened from the bend that came with riding second on a bullet bike. “Yeah, fine.”

He focused on the door. He was _home._ Junmyeon was there, waiting.

Sehun took two steps toward the door before his vision tunneled, body abruptly giving out, sidewalk rushing up to meet him the last thing he saw before darkness embraced him fully.

Gentle hands coaxed him back into the realm of the living. He groaned as bright lights assaulted his eyes, and the hand on his forehead moved with assured gestures to his throat, then wrist where it stayed.

“Welcome back, Sehun,” Yixing’s calm, soothing voice greeted.

He blinked his eyes open, his vision finally focusing on Yixing hovering over him, fingers at his wrist and eyes on his watch as he measured Sehun’s pulse. “What day is it?” he asked, feeling unmoored and scattered.

“It’s been an hour since Tao saved you from a broken nose,” Yixing informed him, sitting next to him on the bed. “That was a nasty time to choose to faint, by the way.”

“Blurgh,” was Sehun’s eloquent reply. He was in his room, lit only by the lamp on his bedside table, suffusing soft yellow light across Yixing’s features. “What’s happening, does the team need me?”

“The only thing we need from you is for you to rest,” Yixing said sternly. “Your body has been through an incredible amount of stress.” Yixing paused, holding a stethoscope to Sehun’s heart, listening there for a few moments before having his lean up and listening to his lungs. “You have two fractured ribs, enough hematomas to classify as an abstract study in color, and what looks like a knife wound to the abdomen.”

“Sounds about right,” Sehun agreed. Everything ached. His jaw was stiff when he tried to speak. Yixing wordlessly handed him a glass of water and painkillers, which he immediately drank down. “Junmyeon?” he wheezed as Yixing helped him lower back against the pillows. 

Yixing narrowed his eyes. “He’s not here right now. Why?”

He took a moment to digest the information, wrestling with the disappointment that coated his throat, squeezing tight. He knew—had known—how much he was risking when he began to need Junmyeon, but facing the cold truth of him not being there when Sehun needed him most was devastating in a way he truly hadn’t expected.

Somehow, he hadn’t realized how deeply he’d come to depend on Junmyeon, especially with how anchoring he’d been in the last few days. A lodestone he couldn’t escape the pull of, even now. “No reason,” he whispered.

Yixing’s eyes—when he had collected his emotions and shoved them aside enough to look at him—were full of sympathy. He missed little, although Sehun knew he would never tell another soul whatever he gleaned in the moments when people’s defenses were down. Injury had a funny way of exposing everything that hurt, physical or no.

“Will you be able to sleep?” Yixing asked. “Or would you like me to give you a mild sedative?”

Sehun didn’t even hesitate. “Sedate me. If I’m not needed, I don’t want to wake up for at least twelve hours.” Maybe the world would be brighter when he came out of it. Maybe it would hurt less.

Yixing gave him a soft smile. “You got it.”

“Do me a favor, though,” Sehun added, as Yixing prepared a syringe. At Yixing’s questioning look, he continued, “Go see Chanyeol when you’re done with me. He’s missed you.”

Yixing’s mild expression didn’t so much as twitch. “I know. I will.”

Sehun caught his wrist as he leaned forward to find a vein. “Treat him well. He talks a big game, but he’s probably the softest of us all.”

“Why do you think I’m with him?” Yixing’s eyes were full of fondness. He found a vein and inserted the needle. The pinch barely registered with Sehun. “Relax, everything looks better in the daylight.”

Warm, welcoming darkness swept him away before he could think of a response.

Sehun could barely peel his eyes open when he woke up. His mouth felt dry, head full of cotton, and he instinctively knew that he’d woken from a very long, deep sleep. Muscles stiff from disuse, lingering soreness a testament to what he’d lived through, he rolled toward his nightstand where a glass of water was waiting for him, along with two Advil.

His room was bright enough for him to know he’d slept through the night, likely in the late morning. But the space next to him was still empty.

He slumped back against his pillows, giving his body another few minutes to wake up and come online, letting the water work through his system. After thorough contemplation over whether it was even worth it to get up, he decided his need for a shower outweighed the warmth of his blankets. He stumbled his way into his adjoining bathroom, starting the water before braving the mirror.

There was a nebula of bruises across the left side of his face, brilliant purples and blues clouding along his cheekbone and jaw, two splits in his bottom lip, a cut over his right eye, more bruises across his right cheek. He slowly pulled his shirt off and hissed as the motion pulled at his ribs and cuts. His torso was worse.

While Yixing had patched up the cut Taemin had given him, he couldn’t do anything about the mass of black and purple wrapping around the left side of his chest. The rest of the bruises were speckled across his torso in fist-sized patches, but where his ribs were fractured was by far the worst of it. No wonder he could barely move.

He looked like a patchwork galaxy had been painted across his skin.

The mirror began to fog up, so he stripped the rest of the way and stepped under the hot spray. It immediately soothed his muscles, feeling tension and stress fade away the longer he let the water wash over him.

Eventually he washed, cleaning off the sweat and grime, washing away the beating as much as he could, trying to scrub every trace of blood from his hair. When he felt clean enough, he turned off the water and toweled himself off gingerly. Someone (Yixing probably) had taken the clothes he’d been wearing when he’d been abducted and changed him into a t-shirt and sweats, but he kicked those aside and went looking for a fresh set of clothes.

He found an old hoodie that looked like one of Kris’s and a pair of flannel pajama pants that Baekhyun would laugh at him for, but he didn’t give a single shit at the moment. The Junmyeon shaped absence in his life was an all-consuming void he could not ignore.

Stomach rumbling, he ventured forth to scavenge, heading for the kitchen on the main floor. Maybe there were leftovers.

Kyungsoo was sitting at the island in the kitchen, drinking a mug of tea and reading a newspaper. He glanced up at Sehun’s approach and broke into a bright smile. “Sehun! Glad to see you in the land of the living.” He gestured to the fridge, although his eyes lingered over the bruising on his face. “There’s a bowl of bibimbap in there I prepared a few minutes ago when I heard your shower running. Eat up, I’m sure you’re starving.”

He rushed for the fridge, nearly crying when he saw the heaped bowl, a perfectly fried egg sitting on top. “You’re actually a life saver.”

“Mmmmm, yes so Kris tells me.” He waited until Sehun had settled on a bar stool next to him to say, “You should take a look at today’s headline.”

Sehun glanced over as Kyungsoo slid the newspaper over, nearly choking on a piece of carrot at the headline. It read, “City Council Moves to Impeach Mayor Kim Over Corruption Allegations.”

“How long was I asleep?” he muttered, quickly skimming the article. Phrases like “unprecedented levels of corruption” and “horrifying amounts of blood on his hands” jumped out at him.

Kyungsoo spoke while he read. “Minseok had me send some very pointed documents to my friends at the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, that may or may not have detailed his books and how much money was coming in from a certain family with a reputation for making people disappear.” He shoved a glass of water at Sehun when he coughed on some rice. “I have friends in very high places. Then Minseok sent Baekhyun and Chanyeol to talk to a few members of the council, showing them evidence we gathered from the Lee family’s hard drives.

“Did you know some of the files you got proved Mayor Kim had sanctioned the Lees to kill several people opposing his political maneuvers? I thought Minseok was going to shit himself with glee when he found that tidbit.”

“How do you know all of this?” Sehun finally managed. “Also _what?”_

“Right?” Kyungsoo seemed like he still couldn’t believe it. “And we had a team briefing this morning where Minseok went over every single thing he’d done, all the plans he’d made, the favors he’d called in. It lasted two hours and I’m still reeling. We knew he was a genius, but the extent he’d planned for this…none of us realized how comprehensive it was, except for maybe Junmyeon, who’s know him the longest. He didn’t seem very surprised at least.”

“Junmyeon was there?”

“Did he not come see you?” Kyungsoo looked surprised. “Yeah, he was. Although he’s gone out for the day, I think. Left right after the meeting.”

Sehun tried not to let that information hurt. “What else was in the Lee files?”

“I thought you would have gone over it all?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t have time, I just sent it along to Minseok. And I’ve, well, been unable to since, for obvious reasons.” He gestured to his face.

Kyungsoo grimaced. “Yixing said you were fine, but that does look pretty nasty. You okay?”

“I’ll be okay. Ribs hurt.” He chewed another bite. “What else have I missed?”

“Well, other than Luhan and Tao counting kills as they hunted you down, not much.”

“Counting kills?”

“Yeah.” Kyungsoo snorted, shaking his head. “They had a competition apparently, of who could tally up the highest body count in the course of looking for you. They both hit more than five.”

“How in the _hell_ did they get away with that?” Luhan and Tao were good, but hiding that many bodies? He was flummoxed.

“According to them, it was mostly “Lee thugs nobody would miss” and they spent most of the night, ah, disposing of them in Han river.” Kyungsoo swallowed. “In pieces.”

Sehun was speechless. “They said Minseok gave them carte blanch, but I’ll admit that’s more than I expected.”

Kyungsoo shuddered. “Needless to say, it will be a while before Kris and I have them over for dinner again.”

“Anything else?”

“Minseok kissed Baekhyun and Jongdae in front of everyone,” Kyungsoo mused. “I don’t think it was entirely intentional, either, but Baekhyun had just convinced the last councilwoman they needed to vote for impeachment, and he planted one on him.”

“Damn, I owe Chanyeol money.”

“Yeah, I lost that bet too. Speaking of Chanyeol, he and Yixing are dating,” Kyungsoo added. “They were holding hands during the meeting.”

“Good. Glad they got their shit together.”

Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment. Instead, he switched tactics. “So, what’s happening with you and Junmyeon?”

“How did we go from discussing Luhan’s ever-climbing body count to my private life?”

“I’m well-versed in many topics of conversation,” Kyungsoo replied cheekily. “Answer my question.”

“I don’t know. Last I knew, he wanted to try for…something, but then I was abducted and I haven’t seen him since.”

Kyungsoo frowned. “I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t come back to you. I think you’re more of a home for him than he realizes. And if he doesn’t, I’ll make sure he pays for breaking your heart.”

“Who are we killing?” Kris asked, walking over to them and leaning down to give Kyungsoo a kiss hello.

“Junmyeon, if he breaks Sehun’s heart.”

“Ah.” Kris nodded, looping his arms around Kyungsoo’s waist and pressing close. “If I recall, we had a similar conversation a few months ago and i offered up use of my knives. Offer still stands.”

Sehun offered them a wan smile. “Thanks, guys. I’m lucky to have parents like you.”

Kyungsoo turned an unexpected shade of red and coughed into his elbow, while Kris got a very shocked, distant look on his face, eyes unfocused. “Did you tell him, babe?”

“I haven’t told anyone,” Kyungsoo muttered.

“Why are you both acting so weird? I have referred to you as my parents before.” He watched, bewildered, as they had some sort of silent conversation with just their eyes. Eventually, Kyungsoo turned to face him again.

“We haven’t told anyone, and I’m swearing you to secrecy, but Kris and I started the adoption process last week.”

For the second time since he sat down, Sehun found himself speechless once again. “Guys, congratulations!” He threw his arms around them both in a hug, only to regret the action a second later, his entire body screeching in pain.

He released them as quickly as he’d initiated, whimpering in pain and trying to settle his ribs.

“I think celebrations can wait,” Kris said, reaching out to steady him. “Let’s get you back to bed for now.”

“Okay,” Sehun wheezed, letting Kris help him stand and support his still shaky body back upstairs. Kyungsoo helped Kris tuck him back under the sheets, both sitting on his bed and chatting softly with him about their plans for a future, letting their hushed hope wash over him.

“Junmyeon will come back to you,” Kyungsoo whispered, as sleep was coming for him once more. “It will all work out.”

Kris’s hand squeezing his was the last thing he registered before succumbing.

He woke suddenly, heart racing in his chest, gasping as the terrors of his sleep chased him into wakefulness. The light had changed from the bright of early afternoon to the soft glow of late evening, golden light suffusing the room in a heavenly glow.

Slowly, he calmed his breathing, the ache along his ribs easing the shallower he breathed, trying to relax his tense muscles back into the mattress. He closed his eyes, letting his head fall to the side. He’d woken on his back, in nearly the same position Kris and Kyungsoo must have left him in. It was tempting to let the warmth of the room coax him back into sleep, but he’d _never_ sleep through the night if he did, and he didn’t know when Yixing would be back or if he’d be willing to drug him again.

Sighing deeply, he opened his eyes, the first step to convincing himself to leave bed, and nearly had a heart attack.

Junmyeon was curled on his side, facing him, watching Sehun come awake. “Hi,” he whispered.

“Myeon?” He reached out, then hesitated. He wasn’t sure where they stood, or what Junmyeon would accept.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here,” he apologized. “I was taking care of some things.” He reached out, fingertips skimming over his face lightly. “Look what they did to you.”

Junmyeon’s eyes were lined in silver, searching Sehun’s expression for something. Carefully, Sehun reached out and caught his wrist, pressing Junmyeon’s palm against his cheek. “I missed you.”

“I was so worried,” Junmyeon said softly. “I woke up in that alley and all I could think was “I hope they don’t kill him”.”

“I’m here,” he assured. “I’m okay.”

To his complete surprise, Junmyeon nodded, then choked on a small sob. “I need...” he trailed off, biting his lip and wiping at his eyes. “I need you.”

Gently, Sehun rolled on his side, reaching out and coaxing Junmyeon to snuggle close, draping his arm over Sehun’s waist where it wouldn’t hurt him before tucking Junmyeon’s head under his chin. “You have me.”

For a long time, they lay together in silence, soaking each other in. It would never be typical with Junmyeon. He’d been through too much, been used too much for other people’s agendas, but Sehun had never wanted _typical._ He wanted Junmyeon.

“Where have you been?” he asked, running a hand through the butter-soft strands of Junmyeon’s hair.

“They took you. So I took them down.”

Them? “Who, Junmyeon?”

Junmyeon pulled back slightly, looking up at Sehun through damp lashes. “The Lee family, of course.”

His mind spun out. “The—all of them?”

“Well, not Taemin, but mostly because I didn’t have anything on him. And Jongin would have looked at me with that kicked puppy look if he’d needed to break his assassin boyfriend out of prison.” Junmyeon shrugged. “But yes. All of them.”

_“How?”_

Junmyeon offered him a smile tinged with sadness. “You didn’t think I was sleeping with the most powerful people in this city _just_ for Minseok, did you?” His expression turned bemused at whatever he saw on Sehun’s face. “Yes, it was for Minseok, but I had my own motives.” He settled against the pillows, and Sehun could sense that Junmyeon was about to talk for a very long time.

He shut up and let him talk.

“When we found out it was the Lee family who had taken you, I made Minseok rescue you before we were finished with the plan. When Luhan made the rendezvous with Baekhyun and Chanyeol, he reported that you were home and safe with Tao. I wanted to come back right then,” he insisted.

“But?” Sehun asked, reaching out and tangling their fingers.

“But all I could think about was vengeance. I wanted them to suffer. I wanted them gone. So I finished up my part with Minseok’s plan and then set my own into motion. I spent all of last night and today going around to every powerful person I’d slept with over the years and used the secrets they’d told me to apply pressure in the right places, until Taemin’s father was being arrested, along with every other prominent member of that family.”

“You...took down the Lee family?”

Junmyeon’s eyes took on a dangerous glint. “The last person anyone considers is the whore. They should have considered me. Maybe now they will, since I’ve dismantled their entire network, turned all their suppliers and partners against them, with the secrets I’ve collected in my work for Minseok all these years. “

“You took down the Lee family,” he repeated, “for me?”

“Yes? Should I not have?” Junmyeon’s brow furrowed in confusion.

Sehun pulled him in, kissing him as fiercely as he could with two splits in his lip. Junmyeon made a soft sound of surprise before melting into the kiss, responding with a tenderness Sehun hadn’t been expecting, but relished all the same.

Junmyeon burned a powerful family to the ground for him.

And he knew that love was different for Junmyeon, that it always would be, but _that_ fact alone...it spoke to a love deeper than Sehun had ever known.

“Wait,” Junmyeon gasped, breaking the kiss. “I have more to say.”

Sehun stroked his thumb over Junmyeon’s cheek. “You’ve already explained yourself. You don’t need to anymore.” He pressed a kiss to Junmyeon’s forehead. “I’m just glad you’re here now. You’re all I need.”

“Oh.” Junmyeon’s eyes were almost unbearably soft. “Thank you. But I need to say this, I think. Let me?”

Sehun nodded, letting him speak.

Junmyeon took a deep breath, glancing nervously at Sehun before fixing his gaze somewhere around his collarbones. “I thought, for the longest time, that any love I had to give would be as cruel as everything else in this city. Because it’s all I’ve ever known. Love has always been a weakness for me, something to use and exploit to get information. And I’ve spent so long in that darkness, that I didn’t realize how much my life was lacking light and happiness.

“When I look at you…it’s like letting everything go. Every past shred of darkness and hate and fear, the dreams that haunt me in the middle of the night because looking at you is like stepping into daylight. Soft, warm and golden.” Junmyeon blinked rapidly, eyes lined in silver. “I’ve been the unlucky my whole life, surviving but not living, that what you gave me felt like a trick at first. Love’s always been black and white for me, occasionally burning red, but with you it’s just…golden. Like daylight.

“And now I know how good it feels to be loved wholly and completely, despite everything I’ve done, and I don’t want to live without it.” He sniffed. “You’re home for me, Sehun. And I’ll always come back to you.”

Sehun took a moment to consider, very carefully, what he was going to say in response. “You have always shinned the brightest for me. Even when you were lost in the darkness, you were the only thing I wanted to look at, think about. You are magnificent, dazzling, and overwhelming.”

Junmyeon choked on a half-laugh, half-sob.

“I will be whatever you need, always. And I will love you,” he inhaled, shuddery and thick, “with all of my heart, for as long as you’ll have me.”

Junmyeon kissed him, whimpering softly, tasting of salt and happiness. “Please, yes.”

Sehun gathered him close, entwined, and breathed.

At peace.

Recovering from his injuries was the most fun he’d had in a long time. For two weeks, he did very little besides rotate between his bed, the basement couches, and Junmyeon’s bed, all accompanied by Junmyeon. They watched movies, TV, played Baekhyun’s video games, and basked in the presence of one another.

His heart was so full, so content, he was half convinced it wasn’t real. But every time his thoughts strayed anywhere near the doubt, Junmyeon would snuggle closer, or kiss him, and it would wash away.

They didn’t hide it, either. He still recalled the astonished look he got from Jongdae when he’d walked in on Sehun and Junmyeon making out slowly on the couch downstairs, a movie long-forgotten playing on the screen in front of them.

In fact, since Minseok had put a temporary halt on all schemes while they waited for the city to figure out how they were going to handle the emergency election for a new mayor, most of the team were constantly around. By the end of his first week of recovery, nearly everyone had witnessed a public display of affection between him and Junmyeon at least once. Judging by the looks some of them gave him, he imagined he’d caused them to lose some bet or other with other members in the house.

He didn’t care.

Outside of Junmyeon, he cared about very little. His days were consumed by quiet touches and basking in having Junmyeon in his arms, next to him. Nights were spent learning all the places Junmyeon liked to be touched, what made him moan, discovering new ways to love each other on their terms, without work or unspoken emotions hovering above them.

Oddly enough, Minseok was the last person to find out about their new relationship, and Sehun was convinced he only noticed because Junmyeon told him five days after he and Sehun had ironed everything out.

“You’re what?” Minseok asked, looking stunned. He stood from behind his desk and came around to where they were standing in front of it.

“I’m calling in your offer, to transition into a different role on the team,” Junmyeon repeated. “I don’t want to be the honeypot anymore.”

Minseok blinked. “May I ask why? You can, of course, but I’d like to know what brought on the change.”

“It’s too hard on the person who loves me. I don’t want them to have to share me anymore,” Junmyeon answered, linking his fingers with Sehun’s.

Minseok studied them for a long moment, leaning back against his desk. “I wondered who would finally convince you to quit.” He stepped forward, placing a hand on Junmyeon’s shoulder. “We’ve been through a lot, over the years. Without you, I wouldn’t have gotten here, we wouldn’t have achieved this.” He smiled fondly, pulling Junmyeon into an embrace. “Enjoy retirement, Junmyeon. We’ll find a way for you to be effective that doesn’t put strain on you or Sehun.”

“Thank you, Min,” Junmyeon said, pressing their foreheads together.

When they pulled apart, Minseok turned to Sehun. “Take care of him.”

“Oh, he can take care of himself, but I’ll always be by his side,” Sehun promised.

Minseok rolled his eyes, shooing them from his office. “Go, I’ve got important work to do if I want to be the next mayor.”

Junmyeon smirked. “I’m sure you do.” He turned and pulled Sehun after him. “Baekhyun, you can come out from under the desk, you know,” Junmyeon remarked, as they left the room. “You’re not as sneaky as Jongdae.”

There was a faint squeak from behind the desk, and Sehun rolled his eyes as Minseok shut the door behind them. With his plan successfully executed, Minseok had not been particularly subtle about celebrating with Baekhyun and Jongdae.

Not that Sehun could blame him, really. It was about time they all got their happy endings, in his opinion.

“I’ve called you all here to discuss my upcoming bid for mayor,” Minseok announced, starting the meeting they were all gathered for. “I have a plan that ensures I win.”

Jongin raised his hand. Minseok nodded at him, and he said, “I’d like to as that we allow Taemin to join our team.”

“Reason?”

“Since _somebody_ dismantled the entire Lee family operation,” Jongin cut a glance at Junmyeon, “he needs a new team to operate with, and he’s bored.”

“Can we trust him?” Chanyeol asked. He had an arm looped around the back of Yixing’s chair, the doctor resting against his side with a glazed, half-asleep look.

“He did help me escape,” Sehun pointed out, winning him a grateful look from Jongin. “He’s never been particularly fond of his family, either.”

“His skills would be useful, too,” Luhan added. “I’ve seen what he can do, and there’s a lot he could offer us.”

Minseok considered their words, frowning slightly. “He can join on a probationary level,” Minseok decided. “Once he’s proven his loyalty, we’ll bring him in completely.”

“That’s excellent news,” Taemin declared, waltzing into the room like a nightmare dressed daydream. “I accept your offer.”

Baekhyun and Jongdae shrieked in surprise, while Luhan grinned like a maniac and Tao cackled at Baekhyun. Sehun didn’t so much as flinch. He’d gotten the security alert that Taemin was in the manor while he’d been kissing Junmyeon that morning. He’d assumed it was Jongin sneaking him in, but judging by the stunned look on Jongin’s face, he hadn’t.

Sehun would have to do another security update soon.

“Sit down before you give Baekhyun a coronary,” Kyungsoo grumped, pointing Taemin into an empty chair by Jongin. “You’re going to have to learn some manners.”

Kris, idly sharpening his cooking knives, smiled. “It’s not like he’s the first feral creature we’ve had to tame. Luhan was worse when he first joined.”

Luhan hissed at Kris, which Sehun thought rather proved his point.

Minseok—having successfully gotten Baekhyun and Jongdae under control—cleared his throat. “As I was saying, I have a new plan.”

“What, have Junmyeon sleep with half the council to get their support of your bid?” Tao asked, wiping away tears of mirth. “That’s what you usually do, right?”

Minseok pursed his lips. “Junmyeon is moving to a different role. My plan hinges on something else entirely.”

Everyone looked at Junmyeon, who merely leaned into Sehun’s side and returned their gazes levelly. Kyungsoo’s was all too knowing, his smile of happiness warming Sehun from the inside. Nobody seemed particularly surprised, and after a moment Minseok began talking again, outlining things in detail once more and drawing attention away from them.

“Any regrets?” Sehun whispered in Junmyeon’s ear. “It’s not too late to take it back, you know.”

“Yes, it is,” Junmyeon said simply. “I could never go back. Not with what I feel for you.” He leaned closer, pressing a kiss to the spot just behind Sehun’s ear.

He wrapped his arm more tightly around Junmyeon, zoning out Minseok’s words and basking in the little slice of peace that he found in Junmyeon’s presence, still in awe that he got to have it.

“I’m yours, wholly and completely,” Junmyeon whispered. “No takebacks.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Sehun kissed him, content with their own special brand of happiness. 

_“Time, curious time_

_Gave me no compasses, gave me no signs_

_Were there clues I didn’t see?_

_And isn’t it just so pretty to think_

_All along there was some_

_Invisible string_

_Tying you to me?”_

-invisible string, Taylor Swift

**Author's Note:**

> kudos and comments are always much appreciated feed me nom nom <3


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